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.- 

THE NEXT MINUTE THE LITTLE CIRCUS BOY HAD PASSED THE 

TERRIFIED GIRLS.” (See Page 162 ) 



Wf)0 ^on 

Or, More about the Little White Indians 


333? JFanntr iS. (f^stvanlrri: 

Author of ** Little White Indians,” etc. 

lUttfiitratetf tn color 6p E. iFam'nffton Sltoell 




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ElectrotyPed and Printed by 
THE COLONIAL PRESS 
C. H. Simands (Sr* Co., Boston, U.S.A. 


©CU273305 



(itontfntfii 


CHAPTBR page 


I. 

Proving His Mettle . 



I 

II. 

Little White Indians and Their Friends 

17 

III. 

Pedoro, the Little Circus King 



40 

IV. 

More Trouble for Rex . 



62 

V. 

A Midnight Fire .... 



75 

VI. 

At the Haunted House 



90 

VII. 

An Appeal to Honor . 




VIII. 

Pedoro Again .... 



135 

IX. 

Rex Comes to the Rescue 



169 

X. 

Indignation 



186 

XI. 

The Strange Engineer 



202 

XII. 

The Spider’s Web 



226 

XIII. 

The Scarlet and Gold Suit . 



251 

XIV. 

Bright Prospects for Johnny . 



277 

XV. 

A Barn Party .... 




XVI. 

The Courage of White Bear . 



320 

XVII. 

A Narrow Escape 



344 

XVIII. 

Uncas Finds Himself . 


. 

384 


»«HII 




• PAGE 

“ The next minute the little circus boy had 

PASSED THE TERRIFIED GIRLS ” (See page 162) 

Frontispiece 

** * Here he is riding the bull again! ^ shouted 

Jimmy 43 

Leading him out of the barW to a place of 

SAFETY ” 77 / 

“ They saw the uncanny form of a large skele- 
ton ” T03 

“ He DROPPED INTO THE BACK OF THE CAB ” . . 

“ Sampson did go 258 

Gradually they worked back to the firm ice 338 

In a moment the fight was on ” ... 353 



Srije iSog Won 


CHAPTER I 

PROVING HIS METTLE 

T ERE he comes!” cried Earl 
I I Brown. “Ready!” 

Caps swung and handker- 
chiefs waved an emphatic accompaniment 
to the hearty salute that went forth from 
nearly a hundred throats: '^Champion of 
the Burke school! Yell, yell, yell! We do 
things well! Rah, rah, rah! Burke! Web- 
ster!" 

A storm of hand-clapping followed as the 

object of all this attention came up, flushed 

with pleasure, yet half doubtful, even 

though he heard his name many times re- 
1 


2 2121 ^ 1^0 WLm 

peated. He was a manly boy of twelve, 
with wavy brown hair, dark gray eyes, and 
an athletic figure. 

The crowd surrounded him, surging and 
cheering, while Earl gave him an apprecia- 
tive slap upon the shoulder. “YouVe 
smashed the record!” he cried. “You’re 
a credit to the United Tribes!” 

“ He’s great medicine! ” shouted Johnny 
Smith, with a hearty thump upon the other 
shoulder. He started a war dance around 
him; while Florence Vernon, Clara Brown 
and Maude Smith headed a bevy of girls 
who clapped their hands and laughed on 
the border of the circle, then trooped mer- 
rily away to enter the building. 

“ Have I really won it? ” asked Rex, 
when he could make himself heard. “ Are 
you sure there isn’t a mistake? ” 

“Mistake!” scoffed a score of voices. 
“ You got every vote.” 


MtttU 3 

^‘Webster! Webster! Rex Webster! ” re- 
sounded from all sides. 

But the sparkling face of the newcomer 
clouded as he looked anxiously over the 
pushing throng. ‘‘Where’s Clifton?” he 
asked with evident disappointment. 

“ Over by the door, sulking,” responded 
Earl Brown. 

There was a laugh, but Rex looked still 
more disturbed. “I’m a good one!” he 
declared energetically; “ to stand here and 
let you fellows puff me up till I forget 
everybody but myself. Clifton was great, I 
think. I’m going to speak to him.” 

“ Hold on! ” remonstrated a dozen voices. 

He tried to break away from the friendly 
hands that detained him. “ What’s the mat- 
ter? What are you holding me back 
for? ” 

“Just to give you a little advice,” said 
Earl 


4 


2rtie nos 32X^0 WLon 

“ We want you to get on your war paint,’’ 
said Johnny. 

And take your tomahawk along,” 
laughed Oscar Sherman. 

A general storm of protest followed, the 
boys all talking at once and crowding still 
closer around the hero of the occasion, those 
farthest away trying to press nearer and 
craning their necks to take in all that was 
going on in the center. 

Rex began to move forward again. Oh, 
you fellows are ’way off!” he said, indig- 
nantly. Of course Clifton feels hurt at 
your deserting him the minute he failed to 
get the decision.” 

‘‘Come now, Webster; you’re the one 
that’s off,” objected Earl, laying his hand on 
the other’s arm. “ You don’t know Clifton 
Bennett as well as we do, if you are his 
cousin. We didn’t desert him, did we, fel- 
lows?” 


“ Nor’ 

“ I should say notl ” 

“ He deserted us! ” 

Earl turned again to Rex. “ Bennett is 
a good speaker,” he went on — no one 
denies that; and he always led the seventh 
grade in such things. But when a fellow 
is fairly beaten, he ought to give in with 
good grace, not make a funeral procession 
of himself.” 

“ That’s so! ” came from the crowd. 

<< We’ve told Bennett that we thought he 
did well,” Earl continued, argumentatively; 
‘‘ but we’re not going to say the decision was 
unjust, because we don’t think so. And it 
is not as Bennett says — because you’re a 
favorite — either.” 

“ Did Clifton say that? ” asked Rex, 
quickly. 

He did — the other fellows heard 
him.” 


6 Hop WLffo WLon 

Exclamations of assent came from all 
sides. 

“ But Professor White is with us/’ went 
on the speaker. That makes Bennett all 
the madder.” 

“ Bennett always was rather hard to get 
along with,” put in Johnny. Rub him a 
little the wrong way, and up goes his back.” 

“That’s straight goods!” agreed Earl. 
“You’ll have to find it out, anyway; and 
there’s no use wasting time and getting 
snubbed into the bargain. But I always 
liked Cliff, if he was high and mighty and 
had a beastly temper — until he got in with 
Carl Simpson and that crowd.” 

“They’re no good!” declared Johnny. 
“ Cliff has taken up with them, though ; 
and they’re all ready to swear by him. If 
he said the earth was Mars, they’d cry, 
‘That’s so, Bennett!’ It makes me sick! 
But it’s just what he wants, of course. I 


Sirotoing ©is J«ettU 7 

don’t see how a fellow as smart as he is 
can care so much for flattery.” 

“ I should think he could see through it,” 
said Oscar. 

“ So should I,” agreed Earl. But he 
doesn’t, apparently.” 

“ He’s too smart, sometimes,” laughed 
Johnny. “ He forgets just plain common 
sense.” 

“That’s the trouble!” chorused a dozen 
voices. 

But Rex was persistent. “ Well, I’m go- 
ing to speak to him, anyway,” he repeated. 
“ It seems small not to.” 

“ Oh, of course! ” said Earl, dropping his 
hand from the other’s arm. “ But as to 
small! — what do you call it for him to 
stand off there looking like a thundercloud, 
and not come near you? 

“ I know all that,” answered Rex, hur- 
riedly; “ but I’m going.” 


8 ms mo mon 

He was allowed to pass through the 
throng, and they straggled along after him 
as with quick steps he crossed the campus 
to where his cousin stood in the center of a 
little group near the main entrance of the 
building. 

‘‘I say, Clifton!” he began, eagerly, as 
he came up; “ I had no idea I’d get it. Of 
course I can’t help being pleased; but I 
expect you’ll knock the conceit out of me 
next time.” 

Clifton looked at him with a disagreeable 
smile. “ Are you sure it could be done? ” 
he asked. 

The group around him laughed. 

Rex drew back as though he had been 
struck, the blood rushing to his face; but 
he turned with a quick gesture to stop the 
tide of angry protest around him. Never 
mind, fellows!” he said a little unsteadily. 
“ I’ll fight my own battles.” 


probing JWettU 9 

Clifton pretended to take him literally. 

I shall choose bigger game when I want 
to fight,” he retorted. 

The crowd broke into indignant exclama- 
tions, while Clifton turned on his heel and 
went up the steps with his companions; 
though not too soon to catch the stinging 
retort from Earl Brown: “The game was 
big enough to lick you this time, it seems.” 

Rex stood, pale and quivering with in- 
dignation, his lips tightly closed to repress 
the signs of hurt pride and wounded feeling. 

Earl stepped up to him quickly and 
brought his hand down with friendly force 
on his shoulder. “Brace up, Webster!” 
he cried. “That was a dirty trick; but 
you’re game, and Burke is with you. Those 
fellows,” and he jerked his head toward 
Clifton’s companions, “ may be big enough 
in size, but they are mighty little in every- 
thing else.” 


10 


2S09 WLon 

‘‘I’m all right!” said Rex, making a 
great effort at self-control. 

Just then the bell rang. 

“ Let’s give him another! ” shouted Earl; 
and a yell went forth that made the air 
tremble. 

While his name was still shouted, Rex 
was escorted in triumph up the steps, 
through the hall, and to his seat in the as- 
sembly room, where the cheers again burst 
forth. 

Champion of the Burke School! 
Champion of the Burke School! Webster! 
Webster! Rex Webster! Boys and girls 
stood up, clapping their hands and smiling 
their appreciation. But as Rex took his 
place, flushing and paling with emotion, a 
number of loud hisses sounded from the 
back of the room. 

Professor White, who had entered from 
his office to take his place with the other 


iWettle ii 

teachers, stepped at once to the front. He 
was a man of noble presence, with a tall, 
well-knit figure, a fine head, fair hair wav- 
ing a little away from the forehead, and 
keen blue eyes, that the boys well knew 
could be piercing on occasion. Strength, as 
well as earnestness and sincerity, marked 
every feature. 

Drawing himself up to his full height, 
he swept the room with a look that searched 
out every offender. Even Clifton Bennett 
shifted uneasily in his seat, although he 
had not joined in the unworthy demonstra- 
tion. 

At last the principal spoke, his voice ring- 
ing clear, with a quality in it that thrilled 
the hearers. “ Is there a boy here,” he said, 
whose soul is so small that he refuses to 
extend the cordial hand of fellowship to an 
honest victor in an honest contest? ” 

The flushed faces of the culprits bent 


12 212#t|0 252*011 

lower; but Clifton’s head was high, and he 
was looking straight before him. 

“ For myself,” Professor White went on, 
still in that ringing tone, “ were I ten times 
world champion of all the battles ever 
fought, and ten times defeated in a fair 
trial of strength, I would be the first each 
time to grasp the hand of my opponent. 
You always stand firm when you mount 
upon your own defeat.” 

He paused again, while a murmur of 
approval ran through the room. His ear- 
nestness and sincerity were contagious, and 
many hearts thrilled in response. Power 
seemed to radiate from him and point every 
word with special meaning. “ I trust,” he 
concluded, “ that the better impulse will 
triumph, and that Burke may never know a 
belittling defeat.” 

At the close of the morning exercises 
he took from his desk a silver medal. 


MtttU 13 

Rex Webster,” he called, come for- 
ward.” 

Through the expectant hush that fell 
upon the room, Rex passed to the front, his 
face a picture of the conflicting feelings in 
his heart. 

“ Webster,” said Professor White, speak- 
ing slowly and impressively, “ you have 
taken part in a fair contest. You have been 
judged by a number of your peers, selected 
by the whole body; and you have been 
unanimously declared by those judges to be 
the winner in the contest, and therefore en- 
titled to this badge, which proclaims you 
champion of the Burke School in public 
speaking, so long as you remain in the 
eighth grade, unless another shall fairly win 
the medal from you. 

“ I heartily approve the decision of the 
judges, and congratulate you the more ear- 
nestly because you had a powerful oppo- 


14 ^Tiie 33os Wion 

nent. The battle was ably fought on both 
sides; and victor and vanquished should be 
the better friends for it; so worthy a failure 
is in itself a success, and the boy who could 
go one better is above feeling any small tri- 
umph in the matter.” 

His voice was drowned in a burst of ap- 
plause, in the midst of which Professor 
White adjusted the medal. Rex went back 
to his seat through another tumult of cheers ; 
but the principal had read him aright 
when he said he was above any small tri- 
umph — his clear eyes held no trace of 
vanity, although his face glowed with feel- 
ing. 

The signal was soon given, and the classes 
filed to their respective rooms, those who 
were not in recitation devoting the time to 
study. But Clifton Bennett sat sullenly in 
his place, making no pretense of work. He 
drew aimless figures upon a slip of paper, 


iWettle is 

while his face expressed the resentment in 
his heart. 

The Burke medal was the gift of one of 
the most prominent men of the city, pres- 
ident of the school board, and originator of 
the Burke contest. This contest was open 
to boys of the eighth grade, and was in- 
tended to foster a love for public speaking. 
Judge Burke, for whom the school was 
named, being an orator of no mean rank. 

There were three of these contests in the 
school year. The time for each was decided 
by the principal, and they were looked for- 
ward to with rnuch eagerness by the pupils 
and their friends. So far the plan had 
worked well, and Burke was proud of its 
young orators, as well as of everything else 
pertaining to it; and, not least, of its prin- 
cipal. 

Professor White was a university gradu- 
ate, a man of culture, advanced ideas, and a 


16 iJos WL'^o WLon 

decided love for teaching, together with a 
powerful influence over boys and young 
men. Not far removed from his own school 
days, his stories of college and university 
life thrilled his hearers with enthusiasm, 
and they were desirous of patterning Burke, 
as far as possible, after these higher institu- 
tions; which desire the principal favored. 
In truth, however, he managed the school 
according to a system of his own that 
worked admirably. 

He was a natural leader; his pupils re- 
spected and admired him; and his power 
over them lay, without doubt, largely in the 
fact that he respected and admired them 
also, and that his heart still held plenty of 
sympathy for their interests and pleasures. 

He saw now the first decided fruits of 
jealousy in the prize contest, and watched 
the outcome with quiet, but keen, attention. 


CHAPTER II 


LITTLE WHITE INDIANS AND THEIR FRIENDS 

T he Websters had spent the previ- 
ous summer with their cousins, 
the Vernons, at the Vernon farm, 
a few miles from the city. During the long 
summer days they had “ played Indians,” * 
organizing as a tribe of Mohawks, of which 
Rex was chief with the name of “ White 
Bear.” Their friends and neighbors, the 
Brown children, had become Pequots, and 
Earl Brown, as chief, had called himself 
King Philip.” A third family, the 
Smiths, had at first acted as white settlers, 
but, later, had formed themselves into a 
tribe of Pawnees, with Johnny Smith, as 
“ Dark Cloud,” for their chief. 

Little White Indians/’ by Fannie E. Ostrander. 

17 


IS iios Si2%l)o Wion 

At present the Websters and Vernons 
lived side by side in one of the pleasantest 
streets of a small city noted for its beauty 
and prosperity. Deep lawns swept back 
between the two houses into a wide, well- 
shaded space, in summer rioting with roses 
and petunias, flowering currant, almond 
and syringa. Arbors, swings and ham- 
mocks, a large tepee for the council lodge 
of the White Indians, and two rock-piled 
fountains, added attraction to the spot. 

The houses were roomy, with wide 
verandas and sunny windows; while well 
in the rear of the spacious grounds and do- 
ing duty for both residences, was a com- 
modious and tasteful barn, from which a 
circular carriage drive swept around the 
further side of each dwelling, leaving the 
space between unbroken. Magnificent 
maple trees stood guard on every side, 
giving their name to the two homes. 


atttu mmt Kntreans i9 

which were spoken of together as “ The 
Maples.” 

Mrs. Vernon and Mrs. Webster were 
sisters ; while Uncle Will and Uncle Ralph, 
otherwise Mr. Vernon and Mr. Webster, 
both prosperous lawyers, were partners in 
business and brothers in heart. Only that 
fall, they had transferred their business in- 
terests from a large city and settled in the 
new homes which had been completed in 
time to receive the families from their sum- 
mer vacation at the Vernon farm, which was 
only a few miles out of town and had been 
in the Vernon family for years. 

Thornton’s schools were its pride, the 
Burke school, attended by the children of 
both families, being of more than local note. 
It was only a short walk from The Maples, 
and was a handsome gray stone building, 
standing in ample and pleasant grounds. 

In September, Rex Webster and Florence 


20 SCJje iSoff smifto 2l2#on 

Vernon, who were nearly the same age, had 
entered the highest room in this school, to- 
gether with Clara and Earl Brown, and 
Johnny and Maude Smith. Kathie and 
Myrtle, Jimmy and Fred Brown, and 
Walter and Bertha Smith, were in lower 
rooms. The Brown children came in each 
day by trolley, from their home in the coun- 
try; while Mr. Smith had rented his farm 
and moved to town, taking a house not far 
from The Maples. 

Tommy Vernon had proudly made his 
beginning of school work that fall, and car- 
ried the importance of the Medicine Man 
of the Mohawks wherever he went. He 
and Fred Brown, Medicine Man of the 
Pequots, were as mischievous as boys could 
be, although the lessons they had learned as 
Indians, the summer before, proved of value 
to them on many occasions. 

Just beyond The Maples was the home 


HittU Knirianf^ 21 

of Mr. Andrew Sherman, the new railroad 
president, whose two children, Oscar and 
Genevieve, had been admitted to the eighth 
grade at Burke and also to the good graces 
of the White Indians. They were now 
members of the United Tribes, the Mo- 
hawks, Pequots and Pawnees having signed 
a treaty of peace and union for the school 
year. Oscar was a manly boy of thirteen, 
and Genevieve a curly-haired, hazel-eyed 
little witch nearly two years younger. Her 
brother was her hero, and they were almost 
always together. It did not in the least 
trouble Oscar that his sister was in the same 
classes, and the fact was not due to any lack 
of ability on his part, but to additional 
training in other directions. 

Next to the Sherman residence was that 
of Mr. James Bennett, a prominent mer- 
chant and a cousin of Mr. Webster — al- 
though the children called him “ Uncle 


22 nos ^^0 WLon 

James,” and his wife “ Aunt Anna.” Clif- 
ton and Gladys Bennett were also members 
of Burke and of the United Tribes, having 
been duly installed that autumn. Clifton 
was a boy of fine appearance. A little older 
than Rex, he was large for his age, with 
black hair and eyes and a clear complexion. 
Gladys was a sweet, golden-haired girl of 
eleven, who made friends everywhere be- 
cause of her sunny disposition. 

The White Indians had decided that it 
was not necessary to give up their tribal life 
entirely with the end of the summer vaca- 
tion, and had rejoiced when Uncle Will 
suggested that they establish their winter 
quarters at The Maples. They immediately 
declared that he should be the Great Sa- 
chem, which honor he accepted with proper 
dignity. The United Tribes were to take 
in no new members, with the exception of 
Clifton and Gladys, Oscar and Genevieve. 


2littU Kntriani^ 23 

And of course you fellows can’t be 
chiefs to start with,” declared Rex. 

Clifton drew himself up proudly. “ I am 
Uncas,” he said; “‘The last of the Mo- 
hicans.’ ” 

“ But he was a Delaware!” cried Flor- 
ence. “ Rex and I have been reading James 
Fenimore Cooper’s story about him.” 

“ That doesn’t make any difference,” said 
Clifton, in his lordly way. “ They change 
things to suit themselves in stories. Besides, 
youWe all mixed up.” 

“ I know it,” laughed Florence. 

“ Let him be Uncas,” put in Earl. “ I 
don’t see the harm.” 

“ Neither do I,” declared Rex. 

“ It’s all right,” agreed Florence. “ Un- 
cas was just splendid! ” 

“ He was the right stuff,” said Rex. 

“ Can I be Minnehaha?” cried Gladys, 
eagerly. 


24 3os Wion 

‘‘ Of course ! ” the older Indians assured 
her in a breath of approval. 

“ The name just suits her,” said Maude 
Smith. 

Oscar Sherman chose to be known as 
Hiawatha, and the irrepressible Johnny 
Smith informed him that he would have to 
marry Minnehaha, which remark called 
forth an indignant protest from the blush- 
ing little Laughing Water. 

In the midst of the merriment, Gene- 
vieve, who had been thinking earnestly, an- 
nounced her own choice of a name. 

“ I am Wenonah, Hiawatha’s mother,” 
she said, gravely. 

This was greeted with a shout; but Gene- 
vieve was firm. 

“ He didn’t have any sister,” she urged; 
“ so I’ve got to be his mother.” 

“ But Wenonah died, you know,” Flor- 
ence reminded her. 


ILittle Kntrianf^ 25 

^^Well, then,” said Genevieve; “I’ll be 
Nokomis, so I can keep house for him.” 

The merriment increased. 

“ Keep wigwam, you mean,” cried 
Frank. 

“What a nice little grandmother!” 
laughed Clara Brown. 

“ Hiawatha will have to behave!” cried 
Earl. 

Genevieve laughed a little with the rest, 
but she held to her decision until Oscar 
proposed a way out of the difficulty. 

“ I’ll tell you! ” he cried. “ You can be 
my sister just the same, even if Hiawatha 
didn’t have one. And your name can be 
Wenonah, too, after his mother.” 

Genevieve clapped her hands in delight. 
“That’s just the thing!” she agreed. 
“ Then I can go around with you, same as 
I do now.” 

But interest in the red man and his ways 


26 ®J|e Hos SSaifto WLon 

was not confined to the United Tribes. The 
great celebration that had marked the close 
of the summer at the Vernon Farm had 
aroused a great deal of interest, and many 
new tribes had sprung up; so the Burke 
campus often rang with war whoops, and 
many a wary march, crafty surprise, cun- 
ning ambush, and exciting battle, enlivened 
the autumn days. All Burke had caught 
the fever — even the little lads and lasses of 
the primary, to whom Tommy and Fred 
were great heroes — and the older people 
found it necessary to refresh their own 
knowledge of Indian lore in order to an- 
swer the questions that poured in upon 
them. The interest was a wholesome one, 
and the law-abiding citizens of Thornton 
only smiled when the warlike little Indians 
paraded their streets. 

Uncas, however, had not lived up to his 
name. He had grown more and more dis- 


Hittle WL^itt Kntrfanis 27 

agreeable, until the United Tribes were 
ready to vote him a bad Indian. This they 
would have done but for Gladys, whose dis- 
tress over her brother’s conduct was very 
evident. As it was, they laid the matter 
before the Great Sachem; but he advised 
them to do nothing at present. 

“ Patience, you know, is one of the most 
marked of Indian traits,” he said. “ In- 
dians can wait for things, when it suits them 
to do so ; and I think it will be well to wait 
until Uncas finds himself.” 

“ Is Cliff lost? ” inquired Tommy, with 
startled eyes. 

“ His good sense is, for a time,” answered 
Uncle Will. “ But he will get it back 
again.” 

Rex had made many friends since enter- 
ing Burke, and he had been glad to meet 
with an open heart the cousins whom he 
knew but slightly. From Gladys he had 


28 srtif iSosf Wion 

received a sympathetic response; but Clif- 
ton had held himself more and more aloof. 
True, wholesome and generous, Rex could 
not understand that his cousin was jealous 
of him — of his scholarship and popularity 
and the place he was winning in the hearts 
of teachers and schoolmates; but Clifton 
wished to be always first — it was the great 
fault of his nature. Impatient of the praise 
given another, he expected constant appre- 
ciation for himself. Doubtless too much 
flattery had spoiled him, for he was a boy 
of really sterling qualities and great ability. 
As it was, his jealous and overbearing ten- 
dencies, together with a fiery temper and 
much obstinacy, were in danger of bringing 
him serious trouble. 

The Friday before, Burke, with many of 
its friends, had enjoyed the first prize con- 
test of the year, and the result had been a 
surprise to Clifton, He had worked for the 


Hfttle mmt ){ntrians 29 

medal confidently, knowing that he was a 
fine speaker and scarcely considering the 
possibility of failure to win; while he 
could not brook the thought of such failure. 
Rex, on the contrary, had entered this con- 
test with whole-souled enthusiasm, as ready 
to celebrate his cousin’s victory as his own. 
He was fond of public speaking, and had 
brought an enviable record from his previ- 
ous school ; but he was a thoroughly normal 
boy, too carefully trained to be crushed by 
a much larger defeat than the failure to win 
this contest, so he had awaited the result 
with simply a healthy interest. 

Nevertheless, he would have been greatly 
pleased with his victory had it not been for 
Clifton’s displeasure. He was warm- 
hearted, with strong social instincts, and 
could not bear to have a schoolmate, much 
less a relative, so bitterly offended with 
him; while the injustice of it made it still 


30 CJie WL^o Wion 

harder to bear. Surprised and hurt at the 
outcome of what he had supposed would be 
a friendly rivalry, he could scarcely bring 
his mind to study. It was his first experi- 
ence with an enemy. 

But his heavy heart found little cause 
for hope that the unpleasantness would soon 
be over; instead, after the unusually long 
hours of the forenoon had worn themselves 
away, and he had evaded the bracing com- 
panionship of his friends to walk home by 
himself, he wondered, with considerable 
anxiety, if Gladys would be in sympathy 
with her brother. His uncertainty was dis- 
pelled when he found her waiting at the 
corner for him. 

“ Fm so glad you got it! ” she cried, turn- 
ing to walk on with him. ‘‘ Of course I 
don’t mean I’m glad Clifton lost it,” she 
corrected, as she danced along beside him; 
“ but you couldn’t both win it, and I’d be 


atttu mmt rnritum 31 

glad either way.” It was evident that 
Gladys had not understood her brother’s 
part in the disturbance of the morning. 

Rex thanked her gloomily. “ I’d be glad 
either way, too,” he said ; “ if Clifton wasn’t 
mad about it.” 

“Clifton!” echoed Gladys, her face 
flushing with dismay. “ Why, how can he 
be mad? ” 

“That’s just it!” cried Rex. “If I’d 
done anything mean, or little, I wouldn’t 
blame him ; but I haven’t. Why didn’t he 
tell me if he didn’t want me to try? ” 

“ He did want you to try,” said Gladys. 
“ But I suppose he didn’t think you’d win.” 

“ Well, neither did I,” said Rex. “ But 
I did win, and I don’t think I ought to be 
treated like a sneak for it.” 

“ Of course not! ” agreed Gladys, in dis- 
tress. “ And I didn’t know Clifton felt like 
that. It must be those old boys that he goes 


32 Hos WLf^o Wion 

with lately. He seems so different. But 
please don’t mind it so much, Rex. I un- 
derstand.” 

He went into the house feeling com- 
forted. 

Florence had run in to tell of his tri- 
umph, and she, as well as Frank, was jubi- 
lant. Little Grace was hopping up and 
down and clapping her hands with delight 
because she was sure her “ big brother ” 
had done something very wonderful, al- 
though she was not quite certain what it 
might be. She danced around him, crying 
gleefully: I’m so glad! I’m so glad!” 

Then, as his troubled face reminded her of 
what Frank had said, she veered about to 
comfort him. What did Clifton do to 
you, Rexy?” she asked in a soothing tone, 
trying to draw his head down to her own 
level. 

“ Oh, nothing for you to bother yourself 


atttu mmt 33 

about, Midget!” answered Rex, catching 
her up in his arms. “You’re great medi- 
cine! ” 

The little girl shouted in merry appreci- 
ation of a coming frolic and forgot all 
about Clifton; while Mrs. Webster said 
gently to the older children: “ Never mind. 
The trouble will be sure to straighten itself 
out. Rex did well, and so did Clifton. We 
were proud of both.” 

“You’re all right, my son!” said Mr. 
Webster, bringing a caressing hand down 
upon the boy’s shoulder. “Now you must 
live up to the medal — there’s always more 
than one meaning to a contest, no matter 
what its nature may be.” 

Rex’s face kindled. “ I think I know 
what you mean, father,” he answered. 

The two looked at each other with 
perfect confidence in their faces — the 
strong man, and the manly boy; and the 


34 Has WLtfo WLon 

likeness of one to the other was very 
marked. 

After school, Gladys and Rex were out 
in a little summer-house on the edge of Mr. 
Bennett’s lawn. The boy had gone over on 
an errand for his mother, and Gladys had 
called to him from the summer-house. Al- 
though it was the last week in October, the 
day was warm, and the air was sweet with 
a spicy fragrance. 

Rex was thinking of Clifton’s conduct; 
but, glancing at his cousin, he caught a 
troubled look upon her usually bright face, 
and straightened up immediately. “ What’s 
the matter, Gladys?” he asked. ‘‘What 
makes you look like that? ” 

She turned solemn eyes upon him. 
“ Rex, I’m worried about papa,” she 
answered slowly, “ and I can’t talk to 
Clifton about it now — he’s so — so 
queer/^ 


mttU WitfiU Kntrfani^ 35 

“ Why, what’s the matter with Uncle 
James?” asked Rex, in surprise. 

“ That is just what I don’t know,” replied 
Gladys, with puzzled precision. “ But he 
hasn’t been like himself for ever and ever 
so long.” 

I wondered if he was always so quiet,” 
said Rex. “ Father said he used to be full 
of fun.” 

Yes, he did,” said Gladys. 

“ Can’t you think what it might be? ” 

Gladys clasped her hands about her knees 
and puckered her forehead in a puzzled 
frown. “ It might be money/' she ventured 
at last. 

“ Why, what makes you think that? ” 
cried Rex. I thought Uncle James had 
lots of money.” 

“ So did I,” admitted Gladys. “ But 
what else could it be? It’s most always 
money in stories. And then, some way, I 


36 Zftt Mos Wi'^O WLon 

feel that it’s money — Don’t you ever al- 
most know that something is so when you 
don’t really know anything about it? ” 

Rex hesitated, doubtfully. “I — I guess 
so,” he ventured. 

‘‘Well, that’s just it!” cried Gladys. 
“ I’m glad you don’t laugh at me. Clifton 
does when I talk like that.” 

“ I don’t feel a bit like laughing at you,” 
declared Rex. “ I think it might be money, 
as well as anything else.” 

“ But I wish we could find out,” said 
Gladys, wistfully. “ I could get ^long 
without so many dresses — and I eat lots of 
candy.” 

“ Does Aunt Anna know? ” asked 
Rex. 

“Mamma?” — inquired Gladys, with a 
surprised look. “ I suppose not. She 
wouldn’t, you know; she’s too busy to be 
bothered about such things.” 


atttle WL^itt Sntrianf^ 37 

“ Oh! ” said Rex, wonderingly. 

But I’m glad I’ve told you,” said 
Gladys. It makes me feel easier.” 

I’m glad of that,” answered Rex, heart- 
ily. 

After he had gone, Gladys ran into the 
house and met her brother in the hall. 

What are you and Rex hatching up 
now? ” he asked in an overbearing tone. 

Gladys bridled. “ We’re not hatching up 
anything! ” she indignantly retorted. “ We 
were talking about papa.” 

What about him? ” 

“ I sha’n’t tell you, Clifton — you’d just 
make fun of me.” 

All right, keep it to yourself then.” 

Gladys hesitated. “ I should think you 
could see papa acts worried all the time 
lately,” she said after a moment. 

Clifton smiled in his superior way. 

Well, did you straighten it all out? ” 


38 tEfft WLon 

“No; but I wish we could. Rex — ’’ 
She came to a sudden stop, looking at her 
brother with startled eyes. 

Clifton turned away with an impatient 
gesture. “You can’t expect a man to run 
a store and talk nonsense all the time,” he 
said. 

“ I don’t mean that — you know I don’t, 
Clifton. But he never laughs any more as 
he used to — and he always did run a 
store.” Gladys was tying her handkerchief 
into knots and untying them with nervous 
fingers. 

“ Rot I He’s all right. But I wouldn’t 
flatter Rex quite so much if I were you. He 
thinks he made the earth now.” 

Gladys’s blue eyes flashed. “ I don’t 
flatter him!” she cried. “You say that 
because he beat you.” 

The boy winced. Then he flashed into 
hot anger. “ He never would have beaten 


autie mmt mTsimu 39 

me if he hadn’t stood in with the judges,” 
he cried in reckless resentment. 

Gladys faced him, a small, quivering 
figure of indignant protest. “ Aren’t you 
ashamed, Clifton Bennett!” she cried. 

You are not a bit like yourself any more.” 

“ I don’t care!” cried Clifton, furiously. 
“ He has flattered them all, as he does you, 
until they believe he is something wonder- 
ful.” 

Gladys’s face was flushed^ and her eyes 
were almost black with excitement, and 
swimming with tears. “ He has not flat- 
tered me,” she cried. And I don’t believe 
he flatters anybody. It’s dreadful in you to 
say such things about him, and you know 
they are not true.” 

“ I know one can’t reason with a girl! ” 
Clifton flung back, as he rushed out, bang- 
ing the door behind him. 


CHAPTER III 


PEDORO, THE LITTLE CIRCUS KING 

F or several days, the White Indians 
and their friends had been interested 
in a coming circus. It was a mam- 
moth affair whose gorgeous billboards rep- 
resented everything wonderful in circus pos- 
sibilities, as well as animal life and training. 

When the eventful day arrived, Frank 
and Walter, with Jimmy, Fred and 
Tommy, were admiring the posters for the 
twentieth time. 

“ Look at that elephant standing on the 
barrel! ” yelled Tommy. 

“And the monkeys shaking hands!” 
shouted Fred. 

“ ‘ The biggest and fiercest tiger ever on 
exhibition — a real man-eater of the jun- 


40 


^ttroiro 41 

gle!’” declaimed Frank. “That’s some- 
thing like. None of your milk and water 
tigers.” 

“ Wonder how many he’s eaten,” put in 
Walter. “ Isn’t he a corker? I’d like to 
shoot one of those fellows.” 

“ Listen! ” cried Frank. “ ‘ Rudiger, the 
white Spanish bull, direct from the bull 
fights of Spain.’ See that little fellow 
jumping over his head! ” 

“ I wouldn’t like to be stuck on to his 
horns,” remarked Fred. 

“ Huh! ” bragged Tommy. “ Wish 
they’d have him fight here. I wouldn’t be 
afraid.” Tommy, as usual, was brave at a 
safe distance from danger. 

“Huh!” scoffed Fred in his turn. 
“ You’d run if he looked at you.” 

“Wouldn’t!” denied Tommy. ''You'd 
run.” 

“ Big Eagle here would be the one to 


42 2909 WLifO Wion 

face him,” put in Frank, giving Jimmy an 
appreciative slap on the shoulder. Don’t 
forget how he faced Brindle, the cow, last 
summer and gave you time to run away.” 

‘‘Huh!” sniffed Tommy again. He 
ain’t much like Brindle!” 

“ Brindle was enough to send you flying, 
anyway,” laughed Frank. 

Walter joined in the laugh, while the dis- 
comfited Medicine Man suddenly became 
interested in the further end of the bill- 
board. 

“Here he is again!” he shouted, from 
his new position. 

The smaller boys raced after him, and in 
a moment Frank and Walter followed. 

“ ‘ Senor Pedoro Mendozo, the smallest 
champion bareback rider and acrobat in 
the world,’ ” read Frank, as though he had 
not read it a dozen times before. “ ‘ Onlv 
ten years of age, and performs without ef- 





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43 

fort the most wonderful feats of strength 
and agility. A marvel to all who see him. 
One exhibition of Senor Pedoro, alone, is 
worth more than the whole price of ad- 
mission. Don’t fail to see the Little Circus 
King. The event of a lifetime! ’ ” 

See him jump! ” yelled Tommy. 

‘‘Here he is riding the bull again!” 
shouted Jimmy. 

“ Look at him walking on the top of the 
tent with his head down! ” screamed Fred. 

“ Suppose he can really do that? ” asked 
Walter, doubtfully. 

“ Of course,” answered Frank. “ It’s all 
in practice and having something on the 
bottom of your feet to hold you up.” 

“ Must be fun to do things like that and 
have everybody cheering you,” said Walter. 

“ I could do that,” boasted Tommy, his 
eyes riveted to the picture of Senor Pedoro 
swinging by his toes from a high trapeze. 


44 J3oj? WiffO WLon 

‘‘Yes, you’d do it!” laughed Frank. 
“ Pedoro wouldn’t be in it with you! ” 

“We could learn,” put in Fred, taking 
Tommy’s part as usual when their prowess 
was in question. 

“Of course!” agreed Walter, teasingly. 
“ They’d put something soft down for you 
to fall on.” 

“ / wouldn’t like it, anyway,” decided 
Jimmy, staring at the picture with serious 
eyes. 

“ You don’t have to do it,” retorted Fred. 

I want to I ” 

“ So do I,” Tommy chimed in. 

Frank and Walter shouted. “Well, 
why don’t you? ” laughed Frank. “ All you 
fellows need to do is just to go and ask for 
a job.” 

“ We’ll come an'd see you perform,” 
added Walter, as the two ran along. 

But Fred and Tommy lagged behind. 


Ifetrovo 45 

“ Let’s do it! ” suggested Fred, throwing 
a defiant look after the older boys. “ They 
think we can’t.” 

“ All right! ” agreed Tommy. 

‘‘I guess they wouldn’t laugh then!'' 
continued Fred, kicking a pebble wrath- 
fully. 

In the end, they made their plans with 
much giggling, many defiant looks and 
gestures, and a great deal of bragging; and 
through it all they were in a tumult of ex- 
citement. 

They watched the procession in ecstasy, 
imagining that they were already a part of 
its magnificence and in fancy picturing 
themselves riding just behind the wonderful 
Pedoro, who, resplendent in scarlet and 
gold, on a beautiful white Shetland pony, 
also gaily caparisoned, seemed to have 
reached the height of fame and happiness. 

They revelled in the glare and the noise 


46 nos WLfto Wion 

and the color. They shivered at the man- 
eating tiger, who rode slowly by in his open 
cage, pacing backward and forward and 
lashing his long tail against his sides as 
if he would like to eat some one then and 
there. 

They shouted at the talking ape ” in a 
frantic effort to induce him to answer. 
They went into raptures over the baby ele- 
phant and hurled derision at the clown, who 
was trying to ride a fractious donkey; and 
they succeeded in keeping Florence and 
Clara in a state of nervous excitement for 
fear they would dash into the street and get 
run over. Finally, they were restrained 
from following upon the heels of the last 
horses only by promises of candy and ice 
cream. 

Uncle Will had promised to take all the 
White Indians who wished to go to the 
evening performance; and so at last Fred 


petroto 47 

and Tommy were in the land of enchant- 
ment. 

They watched with eager breath every- 
thing that was to be seen and found their 
expectations more than realized. They 
stared at the animals with round eyes. 
They shrank with delicious shivers from the 
vicinity of the man-eating tiger. They 
chattered to the monkeys, and, finally, when 
they got a little used to them, they offered 
peanuts and candy with a generous hand. 

But when the performance began they 
were in the height of their happiness, and 
they followed Pedoro’s every movement 
with eager eyes. Indeed, the little circus 
boy more than met the expectations of all 
the children. He seemed to have no bones 
at all, and not the slightest fear. 

He was really wonderful. He sprang 
and hung and swung and tumbled and 
climbed as though his body had no weight 


48 02*1^0 02#on 

and all his joints were springs. The larger 
athletes flung him about like a rubber ball, 
and he always landed where they meant to 
have him and did what he was expected to 
do. 

He rode to perfection. He performed 
many remarkable feats with his little Shet- 
land pony, as well as with one, two, and 
three of the larger horses. He was here, 
there, and seemingly everywhere at once, 
graceful and airy, and as pretty as a pic- 
ture. 

A little fellow, with jet-black curling hair 
and a Spanish complexion, he smiled, 
bowed and threw kisses from the tips of his 
fingers as though he enjoyed it all, and cap- 
tured the hearts of the White Indians. But 
once, in a momentary pause of the acting. 
Uncle Will caught a sad look on the small 
face. The trainer bent and whispered hur- 
riedly to the boy, who broke into smiles and 


PeHOtO 49 

began to dance where he stood. Uncle Will 
sighed, but his companions did not notice. 

Finally came the crowning effort of the 
Little Circus King. He stood at one side 
of the largest ring, facing a canvas-covered 
enclosure. At a word from the trainer the 
canvas parted, and Rudiger, the white 
Spanish bull, dashed into the ring with 
lowered head and flaming eyes. He 
rushed at Pedoro, while a number of 
shrieks from the spectators proclaimed the 
tenseness of feeling. But Pedoro was calm. 
He waited with steady eye and alert body 
and at the proper moment leaped like a cat 
and landed on the neck of the beast. A 
storm of applause followed him as he rode 
from the ring in a crash of tumultuous 
music, wafting kisses as he went. 

The performance over. Uncle Will mar- 
shalled his enthusiastic Indians and started 
them safely on the homeward way. But he 


50 3Sos WL1)0 Wion 

had important business which needed his 
attention, and, having given his consent to 
Tommy’s vociferous request that he might 
go home with Fred, he hurried away with 
Florence, Dorothy, Rex and Frank, leaving 
his small son in the care of the older Brown 
children, who, with their charges, were to 
take the trolley at the next corner. 

Fred and Tommy saw their opportunity. 
After a whispered consultation, they ran up 
to Earl and Clara. “ We ain’t going out 
there to-night,” declared Tommy. “ Fred’s 
going home with me. Come on, Fred! ” 
Well, hurry up, then, and catch Mr. 
Vernon,” cried Clara, as the youngsters 
rushed away without waiting for an answer. 

Instead, however, of doing what they 
could easily have done, they sped around 
the corner with much giggling and brag- 
ging, mixed with the crowd, and made their 
way back to the circus grounds, running 


petroro 51 

here and there in a gale of mischief, until 
they found themselves at the railroad, 
where the circus cars were being filled pre- 
paratory to departure. 

It was light, and there were plenty of 
people about, so the little fellows did not 
feel afraid. What they were about to do 
was a big joke to them, as well as a wonder- 
ful deed of daring to prove their prowess 
forever; and they whispered together ea- 
gerly as they watched their chance, dodging 
here and there and giggling continuously, 
until they suddenly found themselves close 
to a car with an open door and a plank lead- 
ing up to it, behind the shielding backs of 
three or four men. 

Come on! ” whispered Fred. 

They raced into the car, unnoticed in the 
hubbub of work going on, and crouched 
down in a corner, clapping their hands over 
their mouths to stifle the giggles. Then, 


52 Hos Wion 

suddenly, they began to feel frightened. 
There was a cage in the car. 

Let’s get out! ” quavered Tommy. 

All right!” agreed Fred, with sus- 
picious eagerness. 

At that instant, however, the plank was 
pulled away, the door of the car was shut, 
and the boys were prisoners. 

For an instant they clutched each other, 
terrified. Then Tommy set up his best 
howl. It was drowned in the puff and 
rumble and jar of getting under way; but 
it was answered by a long, low, blood-cur- 
dling cry, which seemed to be close at hand. 
Almost paralyzed with terror, the little boys 
crowded closer into their corner and 
clutched each other tighter, holding their 
breath while the cry was repeated. They 
had learned it well that day — it was the 
voice of the man-eating tiger! 

Before the frightful sound had died 


^elrotro 53 

away, a sleepy, protesting chatter an- 
nounced the presence of other creatures; 
while, with a sudden lurch of the car, 
Tommy felt a clutch as of horrible claws 
in his hair, and added his shrieks to the 
startling clamor. “ He’s got me! He’s got 
me! ” he yelled. 

But his cries were lost in the noise of the 
cars as the train sped on its way, its weary 
human freight trying to get some much- 
needed sleep; so Tommy yelled, and the 
tiger screamed, and one sound merged into 
the other, so that they were inseparable. 

Meantime, Freddy trembled in silence, 
unable either to yell or stir, until suddenly 
the moon came out from behind the 
piled-up clouds and looked in at the barred 
windows of the car as though to investigate 
the disturbance. Tommy’s eyes were shut 
tight together, but Fred strained his in 
every direction. The friendly light re- 


54 Hop WLffO WLon 

vealed Tommy wildly clutching his hair 
with both hands and pulling away from his 
corner; while directly in front of the place 
where Fred had rolled, was a cage of small 
monkeys, who were angrily discussing the 
disturbance. 

He’s got me! ” howled Tommy. “ He’s 
eating me up! ” 

“He ain’t!” shouted Fred. “He ain’t 
here!” But Tommy only howled the 
louder. 

Fred rolled back to him. Then, with a 
sudden spring, greeted by a storm of 
screams from Tommy, which were echoed 
by the tiger and the monkeys, he freed his 
playfellow from the clutch of a large hook 
that projected from the side of the car. 
“ Ain’t anything here but us and the 
monkeys,” he declared. 

Tommy howled louder than ever. 

“But — but I guess maybe the tiger’ll 


55 

come if you don’t stop yelling,” Fred con- 
tinued. 

Tommy slowly lowered his hands and 
opened his eyes, looking around in fearful 
doubt. 

“ See the monkeys,” suggested Fred. 

Dozens of crowding forms, and threaten- 
ing hands thrust out through the bars of the 
cage, greeted Tommy’s glance. 

“ I guess they don’t want us here,” ob- 
served Fred. 

Tommy covered his face again and began 
to cry lustily. ‘‘ I don’t want to be here ! ” 
he wailed. “ I want to go home! ” 

Fred had reached the limit of his endur- 
ance. So do I! ” he suddenly chimed in. 

A lurch of the car rolled both little fel- 
lows under the cage of the monkeys, where, 
huddled together, they cried until they were 
tired out and sleep overpowered them. 

They were roughly awakened from 


56 2)09 2tmi^0 WLon 

dreams of tigers, elephants, wolves, Shet- 
land ponies, performing Pedoros and chat- 
tering monkeys, to find themselves, as they 
thought, in the clutches of the man-eater. 

A howl of terror rent the air; but the 
sound of human voices made the little boys 
open their eyes, to see that they were being 
dragged out of the car by a burly man, in- 
stead of a wild beast, and that it was begin- 
ning to be daylight. 

They rubbed their eyes, gasped, and 
glanced fearfully around at the cars and the 
group of men close by, divided between 
terror and relief. 

“What are you kids doing here?” de- 
manded the big fellow who had them in 
hand. 

Tommy got ready to howl again, but 
F red gulped down his sobs. “We — we — 
wanted to come with you,” he quavered. 

“ Looks like it,” replied the man, with a 


Iletrotro 57 

grin; while a reassuring laugh from those 
who stood about restored Fred to partial 
confidence, and he looked around defiantly. 

“ We watched our chance,” he explained. 
“ We wanted to do things like Pedoro.” 

A shout of laughter greeted this an- 
nouncement, and Tommy quieted down 
enough’ to listen to what was going on. 

‘‘ Yes, you’d be like Pedoro! ” jeered their 
captor. “ In about a week you’d be like 
him, I guess I 

This joke brought forth more laughter, 
and Fred began to bridle. ‘‘I can ride 
now,” he announced. “ Ask Tommy if I 
can’t.” 

Tommy rose to the occasion. Course 
he can! ” he asserted, the tears on his cheeks 
making large pathways through the dirt, as 
he cast a glance of challenge at the amused 
spectators. “ He can ride like anything. 
So can I. He showed me how last summer. 


58 STJie ©Off WL^o Wion 

He tied me on the way the Indians do. 
We’re Indians.” 

The memory of that ride suddenly forced 
itself with vivid reality upon Tommy’s 
mind, and he glared at Fred; but the re- 
newed laughter with which his words were 
received caused him to follow up his ad- 
vantage, instead of yielding to wrath. 
“ We’re Medicine Men,” he proceeded. 
“ They made us Medicine Men last summer 
when we played Indians.” 

Through the roar that followed came an- 
other voice: ‘‘Well, I reckon you’ll have 
some medicine to take when you get home.” 

Fred came to the rescue. “ Medicine 
Men don’t take medicine,” he explained 
loftily. “ They just howl and roll around 
and scare the bad spirits away.” 

“ I can howl louder than he can,” chal- 
lenged Tommy, amidst the guffaws of the 
listeners. 


J^eiroro 59 

But at that moment a little figure in a 
fancy suit came running forward. “ Who 
are they, Bill? Where did they come 
from? ” he cried in a friendly voice. 

“ They’re Medicine Men, Pedoro. They 
came in the car with the monkeys, and 
they’re going to put you out of business in 
a day or so.” 

Pedoro did not join in the laughter. 
“ They must be hungry,” he said in a quaint, 
serious way. “ Let them come with me and 
have some breakfast. Do let them come. 
Bill!” 

“ Well, take them along,” said the man. 

We’ll have to tell the boss, and he can take 
care of ’em.” 

The manager, after finding out all about 
them by means of many questions, tele- 
graphed to Tommy’s papa; but the little 
truants were allowed to have breakfast with 
Pedoro, and they were surprised to learn 


60 Hos WLfio WLon 

that he did not like the circus at all, but 
wished he had a mother and father and 
could be at home and go to school. This 
was told them in confidence when the 
trainer’s back was turned, for Pedoro 
seemed to dread even a look from him. 
Taken altogether, things did not appear as 
attractive to the little boys as they had the 
day before. 

“ It is not very pretty until we are dressed 
up,” explained Pedoro. 

Tommy looked around with disapprov- 
ing eyes. “ I’d rather be Indians,” he ob- 
served. 

‘‘ So would I,” agreed Fred. 

There was little time to talk about In- 
dians, however, for the telegram brought 
Mr. Vernon by the first train, and he hur- 
ried the culprits home, with few words and 
a very grave face. When he spoke to them 
he said Frederic ” and “ Thomas,” and he 


^eJroto 61 

made them feel like very naughty little boys, 
instead of brave heroes. Tommy was awed 
out of a tendency to cry, and Fred suddenly 
realized that he was old enough to know 
better. 


CHAPTER IV 


MORE TROUBLE FOR REX 

T here had been no further out- 
break on Clifton’s part, although 
he had avoided his cousin and the 
other White Indians and was very intimate 
with the Carl Simpson set. These boys 
were among the oldest pupils at Burke and 
ranked among the lowest in their classes; 
but they gave Clifton the flattery that he 
craved, and he was perverse enough to keep 
with them all the more because he was 
warned against doing so. 

Rex felt the influence of his cousin’s re- 
sentment even in the family of the latter, 
whose parents met him with a certain re- 
straint which was harder to bear than an 


62 


Movt SCvottiiU tov iXtv 63 

open charge would have been. The boy 
had a frank and honorable nature, and to 
be suspected of anything underhand was tor- 
ture to him. Gladys, however, was un- 
changed; and, although nothing more had 
been said upon the subject of the contest, he 
found comfort in her trust and evident 
sympathy, as well as the open support 
of the other Indians. Still, the wound 
rankled. 

The first words that he heard upon enter- 
ing the school grounds Wednesday morning, 
accompanied by Earl, Johnny and Oscar, 
were like tinder upon a smouldering fire. 
These words came from Carl Simpson, 
who, with Clifton and several others, had 
stopped near the walk half way to the 
building. 

Got things fixed up to suit you this 
morning, Webster? ” asked Carl, in an in- 
sinuating tone. 


64 2129 ^ 1^0 WLon 

Rex turned upon him. “ What do you 
mean by that? ” he demanded. 

“ Oh, nothing in particular,” answered 
the other, with a wink at his companions. 
“ Only, it’s examinations to-day. Of 
course you’ll come out at the top of the 
heap! ” 

Clifton turned away with a laugh, in 
which the others joined; while a crowd 
began to gather. 

Rex sprang forward with a white face 
and confronted his cousin. “ Clifton Ben- 
nett,” he cried, you and I might as well 
have it out now! What have you been say- 
ing about me?” 

Clifton laughed again in an exasperating 
manner. “ Looks as though you had been 
doing something you were afraid would get 
out,” he said, leaning against a tree and 
folding his arms. 

Rex grew even whiter. Well,” he cried. 


Movt JSCtrotttile for IXtv 65 

“ I have not been doing anything that 
I’m afraid will get out; but I know 
what you mean, and you’ve got to take it 
back! ” 

“Have I?” sneered Clifton. “What 
would you like to have me take back? ” 

“Don’t hedge!” warned Rex. 

Clifton flamed into sudden fury. “ I’ll 
take back nothing! ” he shouted. “ If you 
want to fight, come on! ” 

“ I’m ready! ” flashed Rex. 

There was no laughing now. The crowd 
had increased, and all were waiting breath- 
lessly for further developments. 

Both boys threw ofif their coats, while the 
crowd silently made room for them. But, 
before the first blow was struck, a firm step 
sounded on the walk, and a stern voice 
called, “What does this mean?” 

All eyes turned to find Professor White 
standing on the edge of the circle. 


66 ziZSfio WLon 

Clifton began to put on his coat with 
fierce energy; but Rex’s voice rang out dis- 
tinctly: ‘‘ I demand that you take back what 
you have said against me — before Profes- 
sor White, now! ” 

Clifton’s sneer was answer enough. 

The principal crossed over to where the 
two were standing. “ I thought better 
things of you, Webster,” he said gravely. 

Rex turned, his form quivering and the 
blood surging to his face. “ You don’t un- 
derstand, professor! ” he answered with pas- 
sionate earnestness. “ I can’t bear every- 
thing.” 

“ But you know fighting is not one of the 
things that I admire,” said Professor White, 
laying his hand kindly upon the boy’s 
shoulder. 

Rex drew a deep breath. “ I’m sorry 
that I have displeased you, professor,” 
he said sturdily; and I know it is low 


Jttote ®tOUtlU fov IXtV 67 

to fight. But I’d like to settle it all the 
same.” 

An impulsive cheer greeted this frank 
confession. 

“ How is it with you, Bennett? ” asked the 
principal, turning to Clifton. 

The boy stood angrily at bay. He be- 
gan the row,” was his fierce answer. 

There were many exclamations of dissent, 
and Rex faced him with a quick, “ You 
know better I ” 

“ I hadn’t said anything to him,” Clifton 
declared. His look of rage did not escape 
the keen eyes of the principal. 

“ No — but he had said something about 
me,” flashed Rex. Something that he 
ought to know is false. And if he didn’t 
say it, he hinted it.” 

Professor White checked Clifton’s reply. 
“ I prefer to have you settle your trouble 
between yourselves,” he said; ‘‘unless it is 


68 Zfft iSop WLon 

serious enough to demand my interference. 
I will ask you to remember, however, that 
there is a courage that does not need the vin- 
dication of fists.” 

The last bell rang, and the quarrel was 
left for a later adjustment. 

Rex worked with restless energy all the 
forenoon; but Clifton seemed unable to fix 
his mind upon his studies. The result was 
that the former outdid himself, while the 
latter received two or three reprimands 
which made him furious. 

He watched his opportunity when the 
boys rushed out upon the campus at noon, 
and sprang across his cousin’s path as the 
latter, with several others, ran down the 
walk toward the street. 

“We’ll settle that little affair now!” he 
cried, giving rein to his unruly temper and 
ready to defy all authority. 

But Rex drew back proudly. His blood 


imore SCtottiile fov Mtv 69 

had cooled somewhat, and Professor 
White’s words and manner had made a 
deep impression upon him. He felt that 
he had been put upon his honor. 

“ I won’t fight you,” he declared. 

Nice little boy! ” jeered Carl Simpson. 
Teacher doesn’t want him to fight, and so 
of course he won’t.” 

That’s all right,” said Rex, steadily. 
“ But I am not going to fight.” 

Clifton lost control of himself entirely. 
“Just wait,” he shouted, “till there is a 
clear field ; and then see if you’ll crow quite 
so loud! ” 

“ Sounds as if you were doing the crow- 
ing yourself,” broke in E^rl Brown. 
“ Though it’s hard to see what about.” 

“Come on, fellows!” urged Rex, who 
was finding that it required more courage 
not to fight than to accept Clifton’s chal- 
lenge. “ Come on ! ” And he walked 


70 iSos WLon 

proudly away with a chorus of derision 
tingling about his ears. 

“ Let them bray, if it does them any 
good!’’ cried Johnny. “They make me 
think of Earl’s donkey, Goliath.” 

“ Don’t insult Goliath like that,” pro- 
tested Earl. “ He is a well-behaved donkey 
and wouldn’t be guilty of anything so 
mean.” 

Rex got through the remainder of the day 
with not very brilliant recitations, and at 
the close of the session left immediately, 
refusing to take part in the football game 
that was to follow, although he was one of 
the best players. 

As soon a^ he was out of sight of the boys 
he turned down a side street and walked on 
desperately, as though he might in that way 
escape his unpleasant thoughts. He walked 
for a long distance without noticing his sur- 
roundings, to find at last that he was in a 


Jttote for iXtv 71 

forlorn locality where the houses were scat- 
tered far apart and everything wore an air 
of gloom and desertion. 

Then he started with sudden interest. “ I 
must be near the ^ haunted house,’ ” he said 
to himself, remembering that he had been 
in that neighborhood once before with Clif- 
ton, and that not far away was a building 
about which fearsome stories were told. 

He felt in the mood to meet even a real 
ghost, and was pleased in turning a corner 
to see the house before him, large, plain, 
unpainted, and, to his fancy at least, un- 
canny — perhaps more so now that he 
looked at it alone. 

It stood with its side to the street, the four 
lower windows boarded up, and the upper 
ones staring like great eyes. Midway be- 
tween the lower windows was the front 
door, with three or four boards nailed across 
it horizontally. Upon investigation, Rex 


72 i8os 252*1)0 252*on 

found that in the extreme upper portion of 
this door were two small panes of glass, one 
of them broken; but he could not get near 
them because of the boards. The back door, 
which was directly opposite, was equally 
proof against his inquisitiveness; in fact, 
the old structure seemed to defy him and to 
grow more mysterious as he searched, while 
he became more determined and eager. 

He went around, carefully examining 
every crevice; while the loose shingles 
made a suggestive tapping as the wind lifted 
them, and the occasional cry of a screech 
owl struck upon his excited imagination 
like a voice from the supernatural. He re- 
called the stories that he had heard, and 
they gathered force in the silence and lone- 
liness. But he continued his search with 
sturdy zeal. 

A large box was lying in a dilapidated 
woodshed at the rear of the house. Rex 


IWote SrottliU for Mtv is 

dragged it to a window and mounted upon 
it to peer through the cracks between the 
boards; but the light within was so dim 
that he could see nothing distinctly. He 
beat upon the boards, however, and, listen- 
ing breathlessly, felt a strange sensation 
about the roots of his hair. This sensation 
spread slowly, making his flesh creep — for 
an indefinable sound from within the house 
had certainly answered his challenge! 

Rex’s eyes grew larger, and his sense of 
the uncanny increased as he waited for 
further developments, unable, for a mo- 
ment, to leave the box, even if he had wished 
to do so ; but the silence was now deathlike. 

Finally, gathering his courage with fierce 
determination, he banged on the wall again 
and shouted at the top of his voice : Who’s 
there? What’s the matter? ” 

This time there was no response; and al- 
though he forced himself to hang around 


74 sisilon 

for some time longer and to thump at vari- 
ous places, calling out loudly, he was se- 
cretly glad to get away as soon as his pride 
would let him, with the mystery still un- 
solved. 

When he started he had to fight a desire 
to run; and, before reaching the vicinity of 
other buildings, he looked backward many 
times, with the feeling that some ghostly 
thing was following him. 

All this, however, gave him something to 
think about besides his own troubles; and, 
after a little, the mystery again challenged 
him. He scorned what he called his cow- 
ardice and resolved not to let the matter 
drop. 


CHAPTER V 


A MIDNIGHT FIRE 

S LEEP came to Rex very late after his 
exciting experiences, and it brought 
dreams of school difficulties and 
haunted houses in curious confusion. Once 
he was directing his cousin to some room in 
the strange building where he felt sure 
money was hidden ; again he was taking an 
examination paper from a crack between 
the boards that covered the windows; then 
Clifton handed him a key which he said 
would unlock the back door of the “haunted 
house,” but, as he held out his hand to 
take it, Gladys snatched it away, crying, 
“Why, this is a peppermint lozenge!” 
Her words were greeted by a derisive shout 


75 


76 iSos WLon 

from Carl Simpson, and Rex started up, 
wide awake, to find his room flooded with 
a red light. 

For a moment, he stared in wonder, then 
sprang out of bed and rushed to the win- 
dow. Great masses of flame were tossing 
up from the roof of Mr. Bennett’s barn, 
which he could see beyond the corner of 
the house. 

Rex flung open his door and dashed down 
stairs to the telephone. After giving the 
alarm, he bounded back to waken his 
father, ‘‘Uncle James’s barn is on fire!” 
he cried. “ I’ve called up the fire depart- 
ment — now I’m going to rouse Green.” 

Before the words were fairly out of his 
mouth, he was off to his own room, and, 
flinging on his clothing, he sprang down 
stairs again and out at the back entrance. 

In a moment, Mr. Bennett’s hostler was 
with him, and they rushed for the horses. 





LEADING HIM OUT OF THE BARN TO A PLACE OF SAFETY 


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iWttrntfltit iFire 77 

The fire had nearly reached the stables, and 
the animals were restive. 

“ I’d have slept right through if you 
hadn’t called me,” cried the man. “ The 
smoke probably stupefied me — you see my 
room is so close! ” 

Rex ran to the stall occupied by Gladys’s 
pony, and, going in beside him, spoke 
soothingly to the little creature, which was 
already trembling with terror. By means 
of much petting he succeeded in covering 
his eyes and leading him out of the barn to 
a place of safety. 

At that moment, Mr. Bennett rushed up, 
with Mr. Webster, Mr. Vernon, Mr. Sher- 
man and Oscar, while the sound of shouts 
and rushing feet proclaimed the usual in- 
terest in a fire. 

All worked with a will. The lawn hose 
was brought to bear upon the flames, though 
with little effect, and the carriages and other 


78 Hos 21211^0 WLon 

vehicles were moved to a place of safety. 
Suddenly a voice called out, Mr. Sher- 
man’s roof has caught!” and a blazing 
brand was seen to threaten the stately resi- 
dence. 

The cry was taken up, to be almost imme- 
diately drowned by another shout: “ Some- 
one is up there! Someone has gone! ” and 
many eyes followed the lithe form that was 
crawling along a sharp ridge of the roof. 
In another moment the figure had thrown 
a horse blanket over the already spreading 
flames, and the roof was saved. 

A cheer went forth as the boy turned and 
came back along his perilous way, sure- 
footed as a cat, to reach the fire-escape in 
safety. 

“ Who is it? ” asked Mr. Sherman, draw- 
ing a deep breath of relief. 

“ It’s Johnny Smith!” cried Oscar, run- 
ning up with Rex. 


^ Jttitrnigtit iFire 79 

Just then the fire company arrived; but 
the flames had gained too great headway, 
even in that short time, to be entirely sub- 
dued before the barn was a ruin. 

Johnny tried to escape the notice that his 
courageous act had attracted, but he found 
himself something of a hero and felt the sin- 
cere gratitude of Mr. Sherman’s quietly 
spoken thanks. Oscar and Rex were enthu- 
siastic in their admiration; while Gladys 
and Genevieve could scarcely be restrained 
to the back porch of Mr. Bennett’s house, 
where they had been directed to remain. 

From the border of The Maples Florence 
and Dorothy kept back the impetuous 
Tommy, while Frank fumed because he had 
not been allowed to follow his brother. 

Mr. Bennett was here, there and every- 
where, working with a feverish energy and 
a look on his face that startled those who 
noticed it. Clifton, also, worked with a 


80 ®f|e ms smDo mon 

will; but he did not speak to Rex, although 
once or twice the latter imagined that he 
was on the point of doing so. 

At last, however, all had been done that 
could be done; the fire company had de- 
parted, followed by the straggling crowd of 
spectators, and the little group of friends 
in Mr. Bennett’s back yard had discussed 
the affair to no effect. 

Of course someone must have been in 
there,” said Mr. Vernon. Probably a 
tramp, and without doubt he was smoking. 
It is so dry that everything is like tin- 
der.” 

This idea had been accepted as the most 
probable solution; for the hostler had as- 
sured them that things were all right when 
he locked up the barn at the usual time. 
He had been with Mr. Bennett for years 
and was thoroughly trustworthy. “ Who- 
ever it was must have crawled in at that 


^ iFtte si 

little window that I leave open for ventila- 
tion,” he explained. 

While the conversation had been going 
on, Gladys had flitted about from place to 
place — petting Fleet, her pony, and telling 
him how glad she was that he had escaped; 
thanking Rex over and over for his part in 
it; congratulating and caressing the other 
animals and making a general tour of in- 
spection, accompanied by Genevieve, who 
shared all her enthusiasm. 

“ I think Rex was just splendid!” cried 
Genevieve, for the second or third time. 
Then, with a vague idea of loyalty to her 
brother, “ Of course Oscar would have done 
the same thing if he had been awake,” she 
added. 

Of course!” agreed Gladys. “So 
would Clifton. But they didn’t see it; and 
just think if no one had till Fleet and all the 
rest had been burned up ! ” 


82 a:j|e ms mtio mon 

“ Oh! Oh! ’’ cried Genevieve. “ I can’t 
bear to think of it! ” 

Rex was looking around among the ruins 
to see if anything had been overlooked that 
might possibly be saved. Oscar had joined 
the little girls, who had called to him with 
some question, and Johnny had gone home. 

Just as Rex was about to give up the 
search his eye fell upon a little object that 
lay exposed in the light of the newly risen 
moon. He picked it up and turned it over 
curiously in his hand. It was a piece of 
ivory, uninjured save for a peculiar dent in 
one side, evidently made by something that 
had fallen upon it during the fire. “ A 
poker chip!” exclaimed Rex. Then his 
dream flashed through his mind. “ The 
‘ peppermint lozenge! ’ ” he laughed. But 
suddenly he rushed after the others, serious, 
though excited. “It was a tramp!” he 


a iWftinigtit ss 

cried, flourishing the poker chip. “ This 
proves it! ’’ 

Mr. Bennett took the piece of ivory from 
his hand. “ Yes,’’ he agreed, “ it must have 
been. Well, his lodging cost me pretty 
dear.” 

How much, father? ” asked Clifton. 

“ A thousand dollars at least,” answered 
Mr. Bennett, his worried look deepening. 
“ It was insured for only two thousand, and 
it cost me three when it was built — I 
couldn’t replace it for that now, with lum- 
ber so high.” 

“ Here, let’s see the thing!” cried Clif- 
ton, turning to Gladys, who was examining 
the curiosity. 

She handed it to him. 

He looked at it carelessly, then put it in 
his pocket. “ Guess I’ll keep this for a sou- 
venir,” he said. 


84 


STJie Hos WLon 

“ It belongs to Rex,” cried Gladys. “ He 
found it.” 

“ I don’t care anything about it,” returned 
Rex. 

Mr. Bennett stopped him at the foot of 
the steps. “ I want to thank you, my boy,” 
he said. “ You did a great deal for us to- 
night.” 

His tone was cordial, and Rex looked up 
in quick response; but the eyes that met his 
were searching, as well as kind, and like a 
flash all the old trouble, which he had for 
the time nearly forgotten, rushed back to 
his mind. 

Oh, that wasn’t anything! ” he answered 
hurriedly. I just happened to see it first.” 

He ran home before anyone could detain 
him. Once in his room, after hasty good- 
nights, he shut the door and locked it, then 
stood with his back against it as though 
afraid of intrusion, his hands clenched at his 


^ jfivt 85 

sides and his teeth shut tightly together. 
“ They won’t let me forget! ” he whispered 
passionately. “They think I could be so 
mean! Tears came to his eyes, but he 
brushed them angrily away and made 
his preparations to retire with fierce en- 
ergy. 

The next morning Gladys called to him 
from the side porch, and he went over re- 
luctantly. They were standing by the hall 
window for a moment, talking over the 
events of the night before, when they acci- 
dentally overheard Mrs. Bennett ask her 
husband for ten dollars for some charitable 
purpose. 

“ Anna,” he replied in such a strange 
tone that the children looked at each other 
in startled wonder, “ I can’t spare a dollar. 
I’m sorry, but I’ve got bills that must be 
met, and God only knows where the money 
is coming from to meet them.” 


86 iSos; WL^O WLon 

He came out of the dining room and 
passed quickly through the hall into the 
library, closing the door behind him. His 
face was white and drawn. 

Rex turned to his cousin, all anger for- 
gotten for the moment and his face full of 
sympathy. 

Gladys grasped his arm with both hands, 
her eyes wide and startled. “ O Rex,” she 
whispered; ^‘something dreadful is going 
to happen ! I just know it is ! ” 

‘‘Oh, I guess not!” said Rex, trying to 
reassure her. “ I guess he is only worried 
about the barn.” 

“I hope that is all!” sighed Gladys. 
She was too much disturbed for further 
talk, and Rex was glad to get away. 

Through all the excitement of the fire, 
his subsequent indignation and later sympa- 
thy, had run an undercurrent of interest in 
the “ haunted house ” and a growing pur- 


a iWfUntgtit iFfve 87 

pose to investigate the mystery. HiS 
thoughts kept turning to the subject, al- 
though he was not yet ready to take anyone 
into his confidence. 

The boys found him very quiet; but the 
news of the fire had been well-circulated, 
and Oscar’s account of his friend’s activity 
on the previous night seemed explanation 
enough of his present manner. He was 
compelled to talk more than he cared to, 
however, in answering the many questions 
about the burning of the barn. Johnny, 
also, came in for a large share of interest 
and praise from both girls and boys; while 
Clifton was surrounded by a curious crowd, 
for everyone was anxious to get a peep at 
the poker chip. 

In the excitement previous differences 
seemed to have been forgotten; but Carl 
Simpson struck the discordant note again. 
‘‘ It’s a wonder you fellows should know a 


88 WLiio WLon 

poker chip when you see it,” he sneered, as 
Rex came up with Earl and Oscar. 

Oh, a fellow might look at the devil 
without wanting anything to do with him,” 
retorted Earl. “ Might be a good idea to 
know him by sight, so you could keep clear 
of him better.” 

That was the first renewal of hostilities. 
Clifton had even acted a little ashamed of 
himself; but it grew evident before the day 
was over that the bad influence was again 
at work. 

Rex, however, had plenty to think of 
besides his trouble. All the forenoon 
he was preoccupied and absent-minded, 
and he seemed not to realize that he was 
distinguishing himself in a direction 
opposite to that which was usual with 
him. 

Professor White looked at him keenly 
after one of these mistakes. “ That will do. 


Webster,” he said. “ When you get back 
we shall be glad to hear from you.” 

Rex shot a startled glance at him, flushed 
and sat down. But he went on thinking his 
own thoughts. 

At noon he held a conference with Earl, 
Johnny and Oscar, and this was repeated in 
the afternoon with several others. That 
evening was Halloween. 


CHAPTER VI 


AT THE HAUNTED HOUSE 

A bout nine o’clock that night, a 
number of dark forms might have 
been seen clustered together on a 
street corner some blocks from The Ma- 
ples, and a little later moving rapidly along 
toward the outskirts of the city. There 
were occasional low words and laughs ; but 
in the main the party was very quiet and 
kept to back streets as much as possible, 
dodging the gay companies that were out 
in force. 

We don’t want any surprise,” said Rex, 
as they paused for a brief reconnoiter under 
the shade of a tree where the electric lights 
shone faintly. “We are after the regular 
ghosts, not some made up for the occasion.” 


90 


at tl^t ll^auntflr 9i 

That’s right 1 ” agreed a number of sub- 
dued voices. 

Cliff Bennett always used to talk of 
some such thing as this,” said Johnny, look- 
ing around cautiously. “ But he flopped 
over when he got in with Simpson. It’s my 
opinion Carl was afraid to try it.” 

“ He’d run from his shadow,” whispered 
Earl. 

“Well, come on!” urged Rex. “We 
mustn’t waste time.” 

The march began again and was not in- 
terrupted until, through the semi-darkness, 
the form of the “haunted house” loomed up. 
Then they stopped for further consultation. 

“ I shall put two on each side, one on each 
end, and one at each corner,” decided Rex; 
and he appointed them to their places. 

The plan of action settled, they moved 
forward stealthily toward the gloomy struc- 
ture, which seemed to watch their approach 


92 srtie fios WLi^n 

with spectral defiance and threat. But if 
there were any quaking hearts, the faces did 
not show it; and they took their positions 
without delay. 

Rex had chosen well, for there was not a 
coward in his little band; on the contrary, 
there was scarcely enough fear to insure 
reasonable safety in case of danger. Rex, 
however, had decided that the sound he had 
heard must have been rats or mice, and so 
the present expedition had not been under- 
taken with a belief that the house was occu- 
pied by either ghosts or men. 

Softly the signal was given, and, with the 
watchful caution of Indians, the boys began 
a slow circle of the building, examining 
with great minuteness every inch of the way, 
trying every board that shut in the windows 
and front entrance, testing the back door, 
looking for loose clapboards, hidden open- 
ings, everything that could give a clue to the 


fi^anntetr 93 

mystery that thrilled them, even while they 
scoffed at it. 

The house stood upon a stone foundation 
perhaps a foot in height, with no windows. 
Apparently it was without a cellar. Both 
the front and back doors were approached 
by rather narrow steps, tightly boarded up 
on either side. 

The building was over a hundred years 
old, and had been one of the first farm 
houses in the neighborhood. It had 
changed hands several times, to fall at last 
into the possession of a peculiar family who 
seemed to desire no association with the 
people around them. There were several 
grown up sons, but they were as unsocial as 
their parents. 

The family, however, attracted little at- 
tention until, like an unexpected clap of 
thunder, news reached the quiet farming 
community that their strange neighbors 


94 2riie mp m^o mon 

were counterfeiters. Then there was wild 
excitement; but although the house was sur- 
rounded by officers of the law, so that escape 
seemed impossible, the family had mysteri- 
ously disappeared and could not be found. 
From that time the place had borne the rep- 
utation of being haunted, and had been the 
object of much discussion and investigation 
which proved fruitless, save for remarkable 
stories whose truthfulness was questioned, 
but which had the effect of keeping the 
house unoccupied. 

The Burke boys, however, on this partic- 
ular night continued their search with 
sturdy determination and fearsome delight. 
They were a wholesome company, with no 
over-sensitive nerves or morbid notions ; and 
to them this raid was the biggest kind of a 
Halloween “ lark.” 

So far they had been very quiet; but sud- 
denly the leader gave a signal, and the sides 


of the old building resounded to a storm of 
blows from clubs in the hands of the assail- 
ants, while a war whoop shook the air. This 
was followed by a wild challenge: “ Yell, 
yell, yell! We do things well! Rah, rah, 
rah! Burke! 

The boys dropped to the ground in the 
shielding darkness and waited. Although 
every heart thrilled to a delightful sensation 
of mystery, probably not one of them ex- 
pected any response to the challenge ; but a 
response came — all that they could have 
asked. A moment of palpitating silence 
was broken by a long-drawn wail, which 
seemed to waver out from the building and 
strike against the faces of the listeners. 

A moment later, they were huddled to- 
gether in the street, staring at one another 
and at the house with amazed and question- 
ing faces, from which the color had flown. 

But Rex soon voiced the general thought. 


96 ^Tfie WLf^o WLon 

“ Some one is putting up a blufif on us,” he 
said. Some other fellows have got hold 
of our coming. Give them another yell! ” 
The lusty response was all that he could 
ask, although the waiting that followed was 
not without some tremors. What form the 
next demonstration would take was of much 
interest. This, however, was soon decided. 
From two of the upper windows streamed 
a bright light, which died out as quickly as 
it had come; while a quivering shriek 
ended the manifestation. 

The group outside pressed closer to- 
gether, wavering a little in spite of their 
determination ; while two or three whispers 
voiced the thought of all : 

They’ve planned a trap I ” 

“ If it is Burke fellows! ” 

“ We don’t know — ” 

“ Rot! ” broke in Rex, regaining his cour- 
age with a rush. Of course it is the fel- 


at ttif 97 

lows! — Cliff, I shouldn’t wonder, and Carl 
Simpson and that raft. I, for one, don’t 
propose to do any animal dance for them! ” 

“ Not much! ” cried Earl and Johnny, in 
a breath. 

Let’s go ahead! ” urged Oscar. 

“ They would have a pretty laugh on us 
if we backed out now,” said Rex. 

“ But if the house is — ” 

It is not! interrupted Rex, hotly. 

“ Of course not! ” chimed in a chorus of 
voices, in which Johnny, Earl and Oscar 
were most determined. 

The weaker ones overborne, another plan 
of action was settled. The young investiga- 
tors were moving forward again in a solid 
phalanx, when from one of the upper win- 
dows a shaft of light shot out, illuminating 
the little group and bringing them to a sud- 
den halt. 

But it went as quickly as it came, and the 


98 2r)|e WLffO WLon 

boys, with a common impulse, darted for 
the shelter of the house, where, after an- 
other brief consultation, they separated into 
two groups, one of which was deputized to 
watch the front entrance, while the other, 
led by Rex, sought the back door and began 
an assault upon it. 

The flashing lights, the groans and 
shrieks that greeted their efforts, were not 
reassuring; but the little group at the back 
door of the ‘‘ haunted house ” had plenty of 
spirit, and their blood was up. 

Earl and Oscar were with this party, 
while Johnny took charge of the other, 
which, although less active, required 
scarcely less courage. Without doubt they 
were foolhardy, but the tales of college 
tricks and hazing which they had heard 
helped to fire their imagination and lead 
them on. 

Volley upon volley of blows fell upon the 


door, to be answered by shrieks and wails; 
but the lock was secure, and the barrier 
stood firm. Then suddenly came the sound 
of a heavy body dragged across the floor — 
and all was still. 

This silence, coming after the threatening 
disturbance, was the worst of all. What 
was waiting for them in the darkness be- 
yond that door? They believed it was only 
another company of boys; but, in spite of 
this belief, the hearts of the invaders 
quailed. They listened breathlessly, but not 
a whisper could be heard. They pressed 
closer together, shaking off a superstitious 
fear, then rallied their courage, for Clifton, 
led on by Carl Simpson, would not hesitate 
at trifles. 

Rex felt a qualm of conscience. — Would 
his parents be displeased? What would 
Professor White think? But it was Hal- 
loween, and harmless pranks were allowed. 


100 STiie Wion 

He tried the door again. “Push!” he 
cried, setting his own shoulder against it. 
It opened suddenly as though the fastenings 
had been undone, and carried with it a 
sprawling heap of boys. 

They scrambled to their feet, and Rex 
threw the light of his lantern into the room. 
There was a hush of horror, a simultaneous 
pushing for the doorway, then a pause as 
they gazed upon the object of dread — ap- 
parently a human form, covered with a 
black cloth, like a pall. 

But, as they looked, they heard a stifled 
moan, and their courage returned. They 
pushed forward in a body, while Rex 
threw the light from his lantern upon the 
black form, and they snatched at the cover- 
ing. 

At that moment of excitement, as the 
principal actors were pressed upon by those 
behind, the lantern was in some way 


tJie ^oum loi 

knocked to the floor, and the light went out, 
leaving them in total darkness. 

A sudden panic seized them. They 
rushed and crowded to the door and tum- 
bled down the steps in a heap, to pull them- 
selves up at the bottom in angry disgust, 
expecting to hear mocking laughter; but 
the silence was unbroken. 

“We are a lot of chappies!” exclaimed 
Rex, quickly re-lighting his lantern; and 
they mounted the steps again, to enter the 
house with determination and advance upon 
the mystery. 

With a quick movement, Earl drew back 
a corner of the black drapery and re- 
vealed — a man’s hat! He flung it aside, 
and in an instant the remainder of the cov- 
ering went flying across the room to expose 
the form of a dummy, carefully dressed in 
black. 

The boys burst into derisive laughter, 


102 STfie 390$ WL'^o WLon 

which brought the guard scurrying from the 
front, and the merriment became general. 

In the midst of this, Rex unpinned a 
sheet of paper from the breast of the effigy. 
“Here’s a find!” he cried. “Written in 
blood — or red ink! ” 

The others crowded around him as he 
read: 

“ ‘ Be warned in time. Some have en- 
tered these walls never to leave them again. 
Before you lie the earthly habiliments of 
one such unhappily fated. He who dares 
the WATCHFUL EYE courts destruction. 
Depart at once. The mystery of the 
SPIRIT HOUSE may not be solved by 
mortals.’ ” 

This communication had the skull and 
crossbones decoration peculiar to such doc- 
uments, and was written in a hand that the 
boys did not recognize; but they received 
the reading with a shout and were about to 



THEY SAW THE UNCANNY FORM OF A LARGE SKELETON 



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at tijt 103 

make further sport of the dummy when a 
deep groan greeted their ears. It came, 
apparently, from their right, and seemed to 
issue from the ground. Rex threw the light 
of his lantern in that direction, and the mer- 
riment came to an abrupt end, while those 
in front pushed back upon those behind. 
Through an open door they saw the un- 
canny form of a large skeleton draped in a 
sheet, its grinning skull exposed. 

Consternation spread through the group 
and was increased by a repetition of the 
groan, which seemed to come from the 
skeleton itself. Half the boys were ready 
to give up the undertaking and go home; 
but the confidence that goes with numbers 
kept them with their companions. 

“ I tell you the thing must have been 
brought here!” insisted Rex, when he had 
recovered from his first surprise and startled 
recoil. 


104 JEfft aos WLon 

“ Surel ’’ agreed Johnny. 

Earl and Oscar were not slow in adding 
their own assurances. But some were still 
fearful. 

“Where did the groans come from?” 
they demanded, looking around with appre- 
hension. 

“ Oh, I don’t know! ” cried Rex. “ But 
I guess we can find out. Of course it’s a 
trick! ” 

A deeper groan answered him; but, al- 
though inwardly he was not unmoved, he 
put on a bold front, and, as Johnny, Earl 
and Oscar were with him, and the four were 
natural leaders, their will triumphed. 

After a whispered consultation, they be- 
gan a search of the house, thinking it best 
to keep together, although this left the 
front doors unguarded. 

“ But if they run away, we’ll have the 
laugh on them just the same! ” cried Rex. 


ttie 105 

A sepulchral groan answered him. 

They had two lanterns now, as Johnny 
also was provided with one; and, as they 
flashed the light about, they found that the 
hall in which they were standing and which 
extended from the front entrance to the 
back, had two doors on the right side and 
two on the left, with stairs leading to the 
floor above. These were also on the left, 
between the doors. 

On the right of the main entrance was a 
large apartment with roughly plastered 
walls and uneven floor, the windows nailed 
down, and some of the glass in them broken. 
There was no furniture. Directly back of 
this apartment, and also opening from the 
hall, was a room almost identically like the 
first, save that the piartitions which had for- 
merly divided it had been torn out. In 
one corner of this room grinned the skele- 


ton. 


106 3 $os WLffO Wion 

Across the hall the arrangement was sim- 
ilar; but in the front apartment stood a 
large table with several heavy wooden 
chairs grouped around it; while a cupboard 
containing some cracked and broken pieces 
of earthenware occupied one corner, and an 
immense fireplace took up the greater part 
of the back. 

Hurriedly, but gaining confidence, the 
boys passed up the creaking stairs, gripping 
their clubs, to find the second floor as de- 
serted as the first. With careful minuteness 
they searched every nook and corner for 
concealed closets or other hiding places; 
but none was to be found; the four large 
chambers were naked and commonplace. 

They might have had a rope ladder and 
dropped out of a window,” suggested Rex, 
in a disgusted tone. But when they exam- 
ined the windows, they found each one se- 
curely fastened from the inside. 


at tilt IS^onm 107 

“ Anyway, the sounds came from below,” 
said Johnny. 

They descended the stairs and began a 
still more careful examination of the first 
floor, by a common impulse avoiding the 
skeleton, which, in the darkness and mys- 
tery, seemed gruesome to the most coura- 
geous of them. 

“There’s got to be a trap door!” mut- 
tered Rex. “ Those sounds had to come 
from somewhere, and the fellows must be 
hiding.” 

“ Doesn’t look as though there was any 
cellar,” objected Oscar. 

“ There must be some hole down there,” 
decided Johnny. 

“ Perhaps they got down the chimney,” 
hazarded Earl. 

Seizing upon this suggestion, they hur- 
ried back to the fireplace; but it offered no 
possibility of entrance to a cellar. 


108 Zlit Hos WL'^o WLon 

“ This cupboard has got to be moved,” 
cried Rex; but, when they had shoved it 
aside, they found the corner guiltless of any 
hidden opening. 

“ I guess they’re gone for good,” ventured 
Johnny. “ We don’t hear anything more of 
them.” 

“ Skidooed — likely,” agreed Earl. 

But, as though mocking the charge, a 
deep groan sounded from beneath his feet, 
and he gave an involuntary jump to one 
side, while the faces that stared at him 
changed color. 

The boys moved cautiously together into 
the middle of the room. Suddenly Rex 
made a dive under the table, and the next 
minute he was holding a playing marble 
high above his head. “ Does this look like 
ghosts? ” he shouted in triumph. 

There was a reassured yell. 

“ Not much! ” cried a chorus of voices. 


109 

The wail that greeted this mockery was 
met with a derisive laugh. 

The ghost lost some of his property!” 
jeered Rex, flourishing his trophy. Then he 
yelled a challenge. ‘‘ You fellows might as 
well come out! We can stay as long as you 
can, and you’ll tire yourselves with all that 
groaning.” 

This time there was no response, and the 
whole company fell to work with eager de- 
termination. 

“ We’ll see what those kiddoes look 
like! ” said Johnny. If we can’t find the 
trap door, we can take up a board or two.” 

Just then, Rex gave another shout: 

Here, help move this thing! ” 

He crawled from under the table, which 
was quickly lifted to one side. 

“ I believe it’s here! ” cried Rex, down on 
his knees examining the uneven floor. 
‘‘ Yes, I’m sure of it. Look! ” He traced 


no ©He aeoff szatio zzaon 

the outlines of the door, which was cun- 
ningly contrived to avoid detection. Years 
before it might have defied the sharpest 
eyes; but time and the shrinking of the 
wood had disclosed the secret. 

A dozen eager hands assisted him, but 
they could not lift the door, and there was a 
disappointed pause. Then Rex was down 
again. 

“ Push! ” he yelled, suiting the action to 
the word. 

The response was so vigorous that the 
door, which opened downward, suddenly 
gave way, almost tumbling them into the 
cellar. 

They recovered their balance and peered 
into the darkness below. 

“ Come out! ” Rex yelled again. Come 
out, or we’ll make you! ” 

There was no response, and the boys 
looked at one another in consternation. 


at tfit ^mnttXi ^ous^e m 

Then Rex swung his lantern through the 
opening and bent after it to look around. 
Johnny did the same. 

‘‘No one there!” they announced in a 
breath of puzzled dismay. 

The others stared back at them. 

“ Come on! ” cried Johnny. 

They swung themselves through the trap 
door into a low cellar, where they could not 
walk upright. It was only a few feet 
square, and was empty, save for a heavy 
box which rested against the rear wall. 

‘‘ May be another room behind that,” 
suggested Earl. 

Without hesitation they shoved the box 
out from the wall, and another shout an- 
nounced a fresh discovery. They were peer- 
ing into a passage that led straight out 
through the darkness. 

“Come on!” cried Rex. “I guess we 
can go where they can.” 


112 a:j|$ WLtto Wion 

This time there was not a dissenting voice. 
Excitement and the spirit of adventure 
thrilled every heart and silenced caution. 

Slowly they filed into the narrow passage, 
bent nearly double, stumbling and feeling 
their hearts thump against their sides, but 
following their leader with dauntless deter- 
mination until, with an exclamation of sur- 
prise, he pushed up a door overhead and 
pulled himself through the opening. 

They crowded after him with breathless 
eagerness, and soon the amazed group stood 
looking at one another in the center of the 
dilapidated shed at the back of the 
“ haunted house.” There were two doors, 
besides that in the floor; one opened toward 
the house and the other upon an alley at the 
rear, which was shut off by a high board 
fence. 

“So that’s the way they fooled us!” 
grunted Rex. 


M tfft m 

“ But we drove them out! ” bragged Earl. 

‘‘ And discovered how the counterfeiters 
got away, tool ” put in Johnny. 

The boys stared at him with round eyes. 

“ That’s so! ” exclaimed Rex. “ I forgot 
all about them/' 

“ We’re the crowd! ” Oscar shouted. 

Sudden appreciation seized them, and the 
yell that Rex proposed met a response 
which shook the old shed: 

^^Yell, yell, yell! We do things well! 
Rah, rah, rah! Burke! " 

With a common impulse, the leader’s 
name followed: “ Webster! Webster! 
Webster! ” 

Rex flushed with pleasure. Then, as they 
crowded around, he made a sudden dive and 
picked up something from the floor of the 
shed. “ Hurrah ! ” he yelled, following the 
shout with a war whoop. “ I knew it was 
Clifton and the rest. See here! He must 


114 JETlie nos WL^o Wion 

have pulled this out of his pocket with his 
handkerchief! ” 

He held up the dented poker chip that 
Clifton had taken the night of the fire, and 
the triumph was complete. But the boys 
knew that it would simply add to Clifton’s 
anger. In some way he had discovered their 
plan, and had intended to pay off the old 
score by giving his cousin a bad fright and 
himself the opportunity for laughing at his 
rival — and they knew the laugh would not 
have been kind. But, in his jealous rage, 
Clifton was succeeding only in harming 
himself. 

Rex, however, was more troubled than 
pleased when, in his room that night, he 
thought the matter over; and he wished 
that his Halloween fun had been confined 
to the usual simple frolics. 


CHAPTER VII 


AN APPEAL TO HONOR 

I T was the first thing in his mind when 
he awoke next morning. He was out 
on the lawn when Clifton passed, and 
saw, or imagined, a triumphant gleam in 
the black eyes that met his for a moment. 
Did Clifton think he had escaped without 
suspicion? 

Gladys called her cousin to come over 
and see some drawings that she was mak- 
ing, and, while they were in the library 
looking at the work, Florence and Gene- 
vieve came running in, breathless with ex- 
citement. 

‘‘ Why didn’t you tell me, Rex? ” cried 
Florence. 

“ Oh,” gasped Genevieve, “ I’m just as 


115 


116 s:i^e Hos 2K!X)|0 WLon 

nervous as anything! Oscar has been telling 
us all about it, and we think you boys were 
splendid. Just think of their seeing that 
skeleton, Gladys — doesn’t it make you 
shiver? — and hearing those dreadful 
groans and things; and then going right 
down into the dark cellar and through that 
dreadful passage! But I forgot — perhaps 
you don’t know anything about it — do 
you? — I guess the other boys feel cheap. 
Won’t Clifton — ” She caught herself up, 
clapping her hand over her mouth and look- 
ing horrified at what she had said. 

Florence had given a warning nudge, 
and Gladys was staring at both of them with 
round eyes; while Rex shifted from one 
foot to the other and looked everywhere ex- 
cept at the girls. 

Gladys turned to him for some clue to the 
puzzle. 

“Oh, I’ve done it!” gasped Genevieve. 


an avvenl to li^onotr nr 

“ And I didn’t mean to. I told Oscar I 
wouldn’t! ” 

Done what? ” asked Gladys, looking 
from one to another in increasing wonder. 

What has Clifton done — or anybody? ” 

Genevieve’s face was red, and she looked 
appealingly at Florence and Rex; but 
neither could speak. 

« I — I didn’t mean to say that Clifton 
had done anything,” she stammered, seeing 
that she was expected to say something. 
“ We — I mean the boys — just thought he 
might — have been in the haunted house 
with the others.” 

‘‘The haunted house!” repeated Gladys. 
“ O Rex, were you really in the haunted 
house? ” 

Genevieve grasped her opportunity. 
“ Yes, he was,” she cried, her animation 
returning; and she rushed into the story 
again, praising Rex and Oscar with impar- 


118 Zfft Bop WLI30 WLon 

tial fervor. Florence ably assisted; and, 
when they had finished, Gladys had a con- 
fused impression of shouting boys, super- 
natural shrieks, wails and groans, skeletons 
dressed in black clothing, brave rushes, 
school yells, dark cellars, underground pas- 
sages, and a final triumphant, yelling crowd 
of boys, led by Oscar and Rex. 

Gladys had caught the excitement, and 
her flushed cheeks and bright eyes proved 
her interest. But just what had happened 
was still indistinct in her mind. “Was 
Clifton with you?” she asked, turning to 
Rex again. Her eager question showed 
plainly what she wished the answer to be. 

But Rex was bending over the drawings 
in pretended unconcern. “ Who — Cliff? ” 
he repeated vaguely. “No, we didn’t see 
anything of Clifton.” 

Gladys’s brows were puckered into a puz- 
zled frown. “ I thought (jenevieve said 


an to ^omv 119 

something — ” she began uncertainly, 
“ about Clifton — and — 

“ I didn’t! ” denied Genevieve, twisting 
her handkerchief into a knot. “ That is — 
I mean — they didn’t see Clifton — or any- 
body— ” 

“ There’s the bell,” said Rex. “ I’ve got 
to go.” 

So have 1 1 ” cried Florence, rushing out 
of the room after him; while Genevieve 
followed like a small whirlwind. 

At school, that morning, Rex kept his 
eyes open, and he saw meaning glances, 
carefully guarded, between Clifton and 
Carl Simpson. Earl, Oscar and Johnny 
noticed them also, and they were pretty sure 
of the “ Ghosts,” as the boys called them. 
They noticed, too, that Carl and Clifton 
were doing next to nothing in their stud- 
ies. 

At recess Rex’s mind was too full of 


120 ©tie i5o» ®29t|o mm 

trouble for any interest in play, and, avoid- 
ing his companions, he stood behind a door 
in the cloak room, looking absently out of 
the window upon the campus below. 

The position had been taken accidentally; 
but presently he heard Clifton’s voice, 
speaking in a low tone, and caught Carl’s 
reply: “ It’s no one’s business but my own, 
and I’m tired of school.” 

Then the boys came around behind the 
door and started angrily at seeing Rex. 

“Playing spook, are you?” cried Carl, 
apparently afraid of what had been heard. 

Rex turned with a scornful look. He had 
not listened intentionally; it had all passed 
too quickly for him to get away. “No, I 
was not playing spook,” he retorted. “ I 
thought the haunted house was the place for 
that kind of business.” 

Both Clifton and Carl started and 
changed color; but the latter put on a bold 


an Mvptal to ?i^onot 121 

face. “ What are you giving us? ” he asked 
with assumed surprise. 

“ Only this,” answered Rex, drawing 
from his pocket the poker chip and offering 
it coolly. 

Clifton grew white and tried to speak, but 
failed, while Carl glanced at him furtively 
and fumbled with his watch guard. 

Finally Clifton reached out and took the 
chip. Where did you get that thing? ” he 
managed to ask; but his attempt at care- 
lessness was a failure. 

“ Where you lost it,” answered Rex. 

Clifton’s face was a study. He fidgeted 
about, looked at his cousin, at Carl, at the 
floor, and opened his mouth several times as 
though to say something; but each time the 
words were left unspoken. In spite of his 
resentment, Rex felt sorry for him. 

Carl was equally helpless for a moment. 
Then he pulled himself up. “ Oh, come 


122 a3o» SZaJio WLon 

off!” he cried roughly. “That won’t go 
down. You probably picked it up some- 
where on the campus.” 

“ Did I say where I picked it up? ” asked 
Rex. 

At that instant a number of boys came 
trooping in, and Carl turned away with a 
muttered exclamation. Clifton followed 
him without a word. 

Rex did little studying the rest of the 
morning. 

Just before school closed that afternoon, 
Professor White rose and advanced to the 
front of the platform. His face was stern, 
and the eighth grade looked at him in won- 
der and considerable awe. There had been 
something unusual in the atmosphere all 
day — something that appealed even to 
those who were not in the secret of the night 
before. 

Those who knew themselves to be delin- 


Mn Mpptnl to ?i^onor 123 

quent in one way or another moved uneasily 
in their seats and tried not to look conscious ; 
while those whose record would bear in- 
spection were simply surprised and inter- 
ested. All were attentive; so much so, in 
fact, that, as the principal continued to stand 
before them with his keen eyes sweeping 
their faces and his firm lips closed, the room 
hushed to a thrilling silence. 

Rex glanced involuntarily at Clifton and 
Carl, who sat near together, and many eyes 
were turned in the same direction, for the 
faces of the two boys were white and could 
not fail to attract attention. Gladys was no 
less pale, and Florence and Genevieve 
looked frightened; but Earl, Johnny and 
Oscar held their heads high, determined to 
stand by their leader if he was called to 
account. Clara Brown glanced sympa- 
thetically at her brother, and Maude Smith 
was calm, as usual. Both girls were proud 


124 ©He Jiioff WLon 

of what their brothers had helped to do the 
night before, and were ready to take sides 
with them. 

At last the painful suspense was ended. 

“ My young friends,” began Professor 
White, speaking in a low but perfectly dis- 
tinct voice, I am forced to bring before 
you to-day a subject that shames and hurts 
me.” 

He paused for a moment, then went on 
again with earnest force : “ I have worked 
for Burke three years. I have put the best 
there is of me into the work, and have met 
you hand to hand and heart to heart. I have 
trusted you, respected you, striven to keep 
my own life worthy of an answering respect 
and confidence.” 

His voice had become a little unsteady, 
and a wave of sympathy swept through the 
room; but he gained entire self-control and 
continued in even tones, though still with 


^pptal to 125 

great feeling: “ Because of all this, the blow 
that has fallen struck with more telling 
effect. You remember the story of Brutus.” 

Boys and girls shifted in their seats and 
glanced at one another half accusingly. 
There were several pale faces, but Clifton 
Bennett’s was colorless, while he was breath- 
ing hard, his eyes bent upon the floor and 
his hands clasped before him. Carl Simp- 
son had dropped his head upon his folded 
arms, which rested upon his desk. 

Rex sat upright, his arms folded and his 
eyes fastened upon Professor White’s face 
as though to read the words before they 
were uttered. Even his lips were white. 
He had not supposed that his act of the 
night before was so terrible a thing. 

The principal searched the room with his 
piercing gaze, letting it rest for a moment 
upon Clifton and Carl, and meeting Rex’s 
eyes with a quick question in his own ; then 


126 Wion 

he went on again. “ You are allowed harm- 
less Halloween liberties; all the more, be- 
cause of this privilege, should you hold 
yourselves to a strict interpretation of honor. 
It is a craven act to strike back at the hand 
that favors you.” 

“ I have waited,” Professor White con- 
tinued, “ hoping that in the heart of every 
boy here there was enough inherent strength 
and manhood to prove his own salvation. 
I have always striven to speak helpful 
words, to point out honorable action, to give 
no uncertain warning against unworthy con- 
duct. In the main, you have responded 
nobly, and Burke has been my pride — has 
been your pride; but it seems we have 
traitors among us.” 

His voice had taken a sterner tone, and 
his eyes seemed to pierce like sword thrusts, 
while the listeners waited breathlessly. 

“ You all know that it has never been the 


an atintal to ?i^onot 127 

policy of this school to spy and ferret out 
every petty misdemeanor and bring the of- 
fender to punishment. 

‘‘You come from good homes; you are 
sensible human beings, knowing the differ- 
ence between right and wrong in its major 
bearings, and you are expected to honor that 
difference and to hold yourselves subject to 
the law as you will be obliged to do later in 
life. You have never been cuddled and 
coaxed into uprightness, and you never will 
be while I am principal of this school. You 
must stand or fall by what is in you. You 
are beyond the arms of the nurse.” 

It was evident to all that something very 
serious was now to be dealt with, and the 
suspense was becoming unbearable. A flut- 
ter of suppressed feeling broke the tense 
stillness. 

Professor White stepped forward still 
closer to the edge of the platform, taking his 


128 WiffO mon 

hand from the desk where it had rested, and 
stood, tall and commanding, before them. 
When he spoke again it was rapidly and 
emphatically. 

“ I will explain the situation to you,” he 
said, as though addressing a company of 
adults. “ It seems that last night some of 
the Burke boys made an attack upon a cer- 
tain vacant building in the city, which is 
foolishly known as the ‘ haunted house.’ It 
was an unwise thing to do — lawless, also; 
but there are extenuating circumstances, and 
in any event, I do not propose to take the 
matter up. As I have said before, you must 
hold yourselves responsible to the commun- 
ity for any acts which afifect that community. 
However — ” he made an expressive 
pause — that was not all.” 

The eighth grade hung upon his words, 
while the other teachers listened with grave 
faces. 


to Jl^onov 129 

“ That was not all,” Professor White re- 
peated. “ Another company of boys, sus- 
pecting, or in some way knowing the designs 
of the first, and inspired by a feeling un- 
worthy of Burke, defying the regulations 
and all consideration for authority, broke 
into our school building, with some damage, 
and purloined from it an article of school 
property. That they returned this property 
does not clear them. The act in itself was 
criminal; the feeling which prompted it 
was dastardly; the result might have been 
disastrous.” 

Exclamations of amazement and indigna- 
tion sounded on all sides, and curious eyes 
sought the pale faces that were evidently the 
index of a disgraceful knowledge. 

“ I do not pretend to know definitely who 
the guilty parties are, and I am glad that I 
do not. It gives them an opportunity to re- 
gain, in a measure, their lost footing. The 


130 a:j|e iJos ®2af)o azion 

only manly course for them now will be to 
come forward before the whole school and 
confess their wrong doing, thereby proving 
a reserve force of strength and pointing a 
lesson that, I trust, will not need repetition. 
I call on the boy, or boys, who took the 
skeleton from the cabinet, to rise and make 
an apology to Burke.” 

He waited, but there was no response. 

Rex had given a sudden start during this 
last speech, drawing a long breath and press- 
ing his hands over his eyes. In this position 
he was still sitting. But the questioning 
glances could see no change in either Clifton 
or Carl, except that the face of the former 
had hardened. 

I will make one last appeal to your 
honor,” said Professor White, with some- 
thing like entreaty in his voice, and leaning 
toward them in his earnestness. ‘‘ I realize 
fully the courage it would take to stand up 


to ll^oiiot 131 

here and make a clean breast of the whole 
matter. If that courage were shown, I 
should be disposed to leniency. The victory 
over self would go far toward winning back 
my confidence and respect.” 

His keen gaze seemed to rest upon Clif- 
ton for an instant, while a hum of approval 
sounded through the room; but the boy 
never stirred, although Carl Simpson sat up 
and cast furtive glances at him. The many 
accusing eyes could not tell whether Carl’s 
face was guilty, or simply frightened. 

Rex, apparently unconscious of what he 
was doing, was staring at his cousin with an 
intense look, as though life and death hung 
upon his action. He had leaned forward 
upon his desk and bent toward Clifton as 
he looked. Gladys, also, leaned toward him 
as if about to speak; her eyes shone dark 
and beseeching in her white face, and her 
lips trembled. 


132 Efft HOS 2int|0 WirOn 

The stillness was oppressive. 

Upon that torturing silence Professor 
White’s voice rang out at last in a changed 
tone. “ Then I understand that I am to 
ferret this thing to the bottom; and Burke, 
innocent, as well as guilty, must suffer. 
After all, we have cowards among usl ” 

A swelling wave of indignation, gather- 
ing volume as it swept, passed through the 
room, and glances like blows were levelled 
at those who apparently might speak, buf 
would not. 

The principal’s voice brought quiet again. 
“ If any of you can throw light upon this 
shameful affair, I hope no feeling of false 
loyalty will keep you silent. The good of 
the many must be placed before that of the 
few.” 

Rex’s eyes took a hunted look as he turned 
them despairingly from Clifton’s face, and 
he drew a breath that was almost a gasp. 


to fi^onov 133 

Gladys started up in her seat, but sank 
back again and covered her face with her 
hands. 

Without further words, Professor White 
gave the signal for dismissal. 

Rex hurried out, snatched his cap in the 
cloak room and stumbled down stairs, pay- 
ing no attention to detaining hands and 
voices, except to brush off the former and to 
answer the latter always with the same 
words, in a heartsick tone, I’ve got to go 
home! ” 

But Johnny, Earl and Oscar would not be 
shaken off. 

“ We’re going with you, old fellow,” said 
Earl, keeping persistently at his side. 
‘‘ There’s no use in your dodging. If you 
don’t want to talk to us, you don’t have to.” 

Rex turned to them suddenly. How 
could Professor White expect me to tell, 
even if I did know?” he asked fiercely. 


134 grifte Hos 252#lio WLon 

“ I don’t see,” said Johnny. “ How could 
he expect any of us to get up there and give 
another fellow away — he wouldn’t have 
done it himself.” 

“ That’s so,” said Earl. “ And besides, we 
don't know who took the skeleton.” 

“ I can tell you right now it wasn’t Carl 
Simpson,” said Johnny. “ He’s too big a 
coward.” 

I thought so! ” admitted Rex, as though 
the words were wrung from him. 

“ Well,” said Oscar; if I was the fellow 
who did it, I’d own up.” 

“ So would 1 1 ” agreed the others in em- 
phatic chorus. 

Gladys evaded the rest of the girls and 
ran home by herself. Not even with Rex 
could she discuss this new trouble, for she 
felt sure that Clifton was the guilty party. 


CHAPTER VIII 


PEDORO AGAIN 

I T was Saturday morning, and Walter 
Smith and Jimmy Brown had come 
in to spend the day with Frank Web- 
ster. The boys had received permission to 
visit a place called “ The Robbers’ Cave,” 
just outside of town, and started early, 
taking a big lunch basket with them. 
Tommy and Fred had begged to join the 
party, but they were obliged to give up the 
pleasure as a consequence of their circus 
escapade. 

The Robbers’ Cave was a point of interest 
in the neighborhood. A natural cavern ex- 
tending for a mile through the mountain to 
come out on the further side, it was often 


136 


136 Hos ^t)o Wion 

visited by people from the city, as well as 
sight-seers from other towns. The boys had 
strict orders not to venture into the cavern, 
at least beyond the first division ; but there 
was enough on the outside to keep them in- 
terested, and they started off gaily. 

‘‘Wonder if robbers ever hide there 
now,” said Walter, as they went along. 

“ Guess not,” answered Frank, swinging 
his basket carelessly, “ but it was a dandy 
place for them before people knew about 
it.” 

In the early days, when the city was a 
village and while the counterfeiters were 
carrying on their unlawful business, a gang 
of robbers had terrorized the community. 
They had carried things with a high hand 
and had succeeded in getting away with 
much booty, disappearing mysteriously 
when pursued. 

At last, however, shortly after the at- 


jptlroro 137 

tempted arrest at the “ haunted house ” and 
the escape of the counterfeiters, a deter- 
mined party had followed the band of ma- 
rauders and discovered the cavern that was 
their hiding-place; and, although held at 
bay and even forced to retreat, they had been 
the means of clearing the cave of its occu- 
pants and relieving the neighborhood of the 
robbers. 

The nearer entrance to this cave was about 
a quarter of a mile back of the haunted 
house ” in a range of low mountains, and 
between the two was a considerable forest. 
Without doubt the counterfeiters had been 
identified with the other band of outlaws, 
as it would have been an easy matter for 
them to escape from the house by means of 
the secret passage and scurry through the 
woods to their hiding-place in the cave. 
But that point was never settled. 

Frank, Walter and Jimmy reached the 


138 STfie Hos WLiio WLon 

mountain in high spirits and climbed to the 
door of the cavern, where they stood for a 
moment, eagerly discussing the cave and its 
history. 

“ This entrance used to be all covered up 
with underbrush that looked just as though 
it was growing there,” said Frank. “ Uncle 
Will can tell lots of stories that he has 
heard about the cave. Those fellows were 
pretty slick.” 

Jimmy peered through the opening. 
“ These hazel bushes almost hide it now,” 
he observed. 

“ Yes,” put in Walter. “ And when you 
do see it, you’d think it went just a little 
ways.” 

“ But when you get inside you can tell 
that it goes further,” said Frank. Then he 
began to examine a large boulder that hung 
almost directly above the entrance to the 
cave. “ What’s the matter with this stone? ” 


J^eirovo 139 

he cried. “ I’m sure it used to be propped 
up.” 

They were interrupted by the rapid beat 
of hoofs upon the hard road that led up the 
mountain, and Frank peered around the 
corner of the rock ledge. He gave a sur- 
prised cry: “ It’s Pedoro, on his pony!” 

The three sprang out into view as the lit- 
tle circus boy dashed up the road, panting 
and terrified. His scarlet and gold suit and 
the gay trappings of his pony made a strik- 
ing bit of color amidst the wild surround- 
ings; but Pedoro’s face was haggard, and 
his pony was evidently tired out. 

What shall I do! What shall I do!” 
cried the boy. “ They’re after me. They 
will be sure to catch me now! ” 

His look and tone were tragic, and the 
amazement in the boyish faces near him 
changed to startled championship. They 
looked around anxiously. 


140 WLf^o Wion 

“Who’s after you?” asked Frank, step- 
ping close to lay a caressing hand on the 
pony’s heaving side. 

“ The circus men! ” gasped Pedoro. He 
raised one hand. “Listen! They’ve got 
Lightning! ” 

The triumphant baying of a hound, and 
the hurry of horses’ hoofs beyond it, gave 
emphasis to his words, but no one was yet 
in sight. 

Pedoro looked back in desperation, while 
the three other boys stood for a moment 
motionless with terror. Then Frank 
grasped the pony’s bridle and led him out 
of the road. “ Run into the cave,” he whis- 
pered to Walter and Jimmy. 

In a moment he had Pedoro and the pony 
safely within the same shelter; but, before 
there was time to put up the heavy plank 
that had once served for a barricade, the 
panting hound leaped in. A quick bark, 


<Ma^in i4i 

another leap, and he was fawning upon 
Pedoro. 

“ I won’t let him hurt you,” said the cir- 
cus boy. “ I wasn’t afraid of him/' 

The dash of hoofs sounded close at hand, 
and Frank, recovering from the shock of 
fear, tugged at the plank, assisted by Walter 
and Jimmy, while Pedoro quieted the ex- 
cited hound and spoke softly to his pony. 

Then something strange happened. 
With a rush and shout the horsemen dashed 
up; and, at the same instant, the boulder 
of which Frank had spoken broke from its 
place and crashed down, covering the en- 
trance to the cave and shutting those within 
into almost total darkness. The pony gave 
a snort of terror and the hound a long- 
drawn wail ; but so well-trained were both 
animals that they subsided into quivering 
silence at the command of their little master. 
Lightning pressed close to Pedoro, while 


142 Wion 

the pony stood like a statue, listening for his 
cue; but the little circus boy gave no sign. 
One hand was crushed against his heart, 
and the other clutched the mane of his pony 
convulsively. 

The muffled sound of voices calling to 
boy and dog, exclamations of consternation, 
tramping feet and efforts to move the 
boulder, were at last followed by the sounds 
of departure; and finally all was still. 

The boys, with their almost human com- 
panions, stirred from the unconsciously 
tragic positions which they had taken, and 
Pedoro sighed tremulously. “ They think 
we are under the rock,’’ he said. ‘‘ We 
must get out, some way, before they come 
back with help and find us.” 

Frank broke into a triumphant laugh. 
^‘They won’t find us!” he cried. “Don’t 
you believe they will! ” 

Walter joined in the laugh, while Jimmy 


Pflroto us 

looked delighted, and Pedoro stared 
through the dimness with wondering eyes, 
but growing hope. “ Is there a way to get 
out? ” he asked. 

“Of course!” answered Frank, begin- 
ning to move about. “ It’s on the other side 
of the mountain, but I know the way.” 

Pedoro drew a long breath of relief. “ I 
am so glad! ” he said in his quaint manner. 
“ And you were very good indeed to help 
me.” 

“That’s all right,” Frank hastened to 
assure him, having, like most boys, a healthy 
distaste for many thanks. He made a ques- 
tioning movement toward the hound. 
“ Will he bite?” 

“ Not if I tell him not to,” answered 
Pedoro. “Here, Lightning, friends! You 
understand. Be good to them. Take care 
of them!” 

The great creature wagged his tail and 


144 STI^e 3909 WLfto WLon 

submitted to caresses from the strangers, 
while the pony pushed his nose against Pe- 
doro’s arm as though to claim some share of 
the attention. 

“ Hercules wants to get acquainted, too,” 
cried the circus boy. “ Shake hands, Her- 
cules! ” 

The little animal obeyed with grave dig- 
nity, accompanying each hand-shake with a 
stately bow. 

He’s a brick! ” cried Walter, delighted; 
which opinion was echoed by Frank and 
J immy. 

“ I’d like to see him with Humpty 
Dumpty,” cried Frank. Humpty Dumpty 
is our pony,” he explained to Pedoro; “ and 
he's great, though of course he can’t do 
things like yours. Then there’s Goliath — 
he’s a white donkey and he belongs to 
Jimmy’s people. I tell you, he's fun 
too!” 


JIfirovo ^gain 145 

“ I wish I could see them,” said Pedoro, 
wistfully. 

“ You shall! ” cried Frank. “ But come 
on — we mustn’t let those men catch us.” 

He led the way through an opening at 
one corner of the inclosure where they had 
been standing, and they found themselves in 
a narrow passage shut in by rough rock 
walls and dimly lighted by crevices in the 
roof far up overhead. 

They made their way over the uneven 
floor, with quickly beating hearts and some- 
thing of awe and apprehension toning their 
triumph. But Frank was sure of the way 
and told the story of the cave briefly to 
Pedoro as they went along; while Jimmy 
pressed as closely as possible to them, and 
Walter followed with Hercules. Lightning 
had taken the lead. 

“ He will let us know if there is any dan- 
ger,” said Pedoro. 


146 WLffO WLon 

“ If we had Prince here, we’d have one 
at each end of the line,” said Frank. 
“ Prince is our St. Bernard, and he’s a 
dandy, too.” 

“ You haven’t told him about Dick and 
Sampson,” put in Jimmy. 

“ Sampson’s a cosset, and Dick’s a cat,” 
explained Walter; “ and you better believe 
they’re a team.” 

They related many funny incidents con- 
nected with their pets, with much laughter, 
in which Pedoro joined merrily. Then, as 
they toiled along, with Jimmy still keeping 
close to his companions and casting appre- 
hensive glances into the shadows, Frank 
suddenly caught the little fellow by the arm. 
“ You wouldn’t guess how brave this Indian 
really is,” he laughed. “ But you ought to 
have seen him last summer when he pulled 
my cousin Dorothy out of the way of a fran- 
tic cow. You see, a horsefly got after the 


Pflroro 147 

cow, and she didn’t know what she was 
about; and to make the matter worse, she 
had chased Jim a while before, because he 
tried to ride her calf.” 

“ I think he was very brave,” said Pedoro. 

But Jimmy shrank back. “ I’d have been 
scared to death if it had been a bull,” he 
confessed. “ I couldn’t do what you do.” 

Pedoro smiled depreciatingly. “ Of 
course you could if you had learned,” he 
said. 

“ He was made a chief for what he did,” 
put in Walter. “ He’s Big Eagle now.” 

“ We are all chiefs,” said Jimmy. “ Wal- 
ter is Keen Eye, and Frank is Black Wolf; 
and they did just as much as I did.” 

Pedoro clapped his hands. “ I want to 
hear all about your being Indians,” he cried 
eagerly. “ They never made me up for an 
Indian. I was always a little Spaniard in 
the circus.” 


148 Mos Wi.on 

Frank turned on him in surprise. 
“ Aren't you a Spaniard? ” he asked. 

“ Oh, no! ’’ answered Pedoro. “ I know 
I am not. I’m too white. My hair is dyed, 
and my face is stained to make me look 
Spanish.” 

The boys stared at him through the shad- 
ows, standing still for a moment. 

“Won’t it wash off?” asked Frank and 
Walter, in a breath. 

“ Not all at once,” answered Pedoro. 
“ But I guess it would after quite a 
while.” 

“Are any of your folks in the circus?” 
asked Jimmy. 

“ No,” answered Pedoro, sadly. “ I don’t 
believe I have any folks, or they would get 
me away.” 

“ Were the circus people mean to you? ” 
asked Frank, with eager sympathy. 

“ Marston was,” admitted Pedoro. “ He 


IPelroto 149 

is my trainer, you know. He beat me once 
because I fell.” 

Frank and Walter clenched their hands, 
and Jimmy pressed close to the little circus 
boy. “ Can’t you remember any of your 
folks? ” he questioned. 

“ I think I remember my mother,” said 
Pedoro, slowly. “ But it is all so dim.” 

They went on in silence. The air of the 
passage was close and oppressive, and the 
light was growing fainter, while they were 
constantly winding up grade. But sud- 
denly they turned a corner, and Frank en- 
joyed the shout of delight with which his 
companions greeted the surprise. 

They had come out into a vaulted room, 
partially lighted, whose roof and floor were 
apparently set with jewels of an enormous 
size. A score of magnificent stalactites and 
stalagmites sparkled before them. “ Rock 
icicles,” Jimmy called them; but Frank re- 


150 aos WLt^o WLon 

membered their names and gave them 
learnedly. 

After several minutes of admiring inspec- 
tion and eager comment, during which time 
the boys picked their way around, followed 
by the pony and dog, they once more began 
their advance. 

The second passage was dark and myste- 
rious, but they felt their way carefully 
along, with the hound ahead and the pony 
bringing up the rear. 

This new passage seemed endless, but 
suddenly they saw a light ahead and rushed 
forward into a large, room-like cave, with 
the sunlight streaming in through numer- 
ous fissures on two sides where the rocks 
rose above the surrounding level. Through 
these fissures pushed some green leaves, and 
across one corner tumbled a stream of clear 
water. 

After they had quenched their thirst. 


^Quin i5i 

Frank proposed a lunch, and the boys sat 
down on a ledge of rock, while he opened 
his basket. “ I was a chump not to think of 
it before!” he cried. “ Pedoro must be 
about starved.” 

The little circus boy admitted that he was 
hungry. 

“No wonder!” cried Frank, looking at 
the small silver watch that his father had 
given him for a birthday present. “ It’s ten 
o’clock. Pitch in, and fill up.” 

While they ate and Hercules munched 
the leaves that were within his reach, with 
now and then a cooky for variety. Lightning 
sharing the contents of the lunch basket, 
Pedoro told how he had managed to escape. 
Jungli, the tiger, had been very restive 
since his concert with Tommy, and the 
night before he had made them a great deal 
of trouble while they were getting ready to 
start off. 


152 m^o man 

“ So they didn’t notice me,” explained 
Pedoro ; “ and I got away with Hercules 
and rode as fast as I could until I found you. 
Hercules is my very own — he was a pres- 
ent from a man who saw me ride and liked 
me.” 

“ Did you know where you were going? ” 
asked Walter, round-eyed with interest. 

Tommy and Fred told me where they 
lived,” answered Pedoro; and Tommy’s 
papa looked at me so kindly — I thought 
maybe he would help me not go back. I 
knew which way to come; but, when the 
men were getting close, I dashed up here.” 

“You’re a brick!” cried Frank, admir- 
ingly. 

“ He ought to be a chief! ” said Walter. 

Jimmy’s eyes were shining with sympa- 
thy, but the quiet little fellow said nothing. 

When the lunch was finished, they struck 
out again. They had really stopped but a 


JPeiroto 153 

short time for fear of being overtaken. 
Now they threaded a short, dark passage to 
enter an equally dark division of the cavern, 
which Frank told them was called “The 
Devil’s Pulpit.” “ It’s round and has two 
horns branching off on the further side,” he 
explained. “ I wish we had a torch, or even 
some matches ; but all we’ve got to do is to 
follow this wall that was on our right as we 
came in.” 

Lightning had been uneasy ever since 
they entered the last passage, and Pedoro 
held him by the collar to prevent his break- 
ing away, while he strained his own eyes 
and ears for some indication of danger. As 
they crept on, however, along the wall of 
the new division, the hound gave a low 
growl of displeasure, which Hercules em- 
phasized by a snort. 

“ What is it. Lightning? ” asked Pedoro, 
in a whisper. 


154 Eift 30oi? WLffo zuaon 

Another low growl answered him, and 
the dog pulled at his collar. 

“ Here’s the passage,” whispered Frank. 
“ Let’s get out of this.” At that moment, 
Hercules snorted again and jumped past 
them, speeding away into the darkness 
ahead with a clatter of hoofs; while from 
behind them came a slight, indistinct sound, 
like a cautious footfall on the floor of the 
cave. 

Pedoro restrained the hound from leap- 
ing back. ‘‘No, no!” he whispered with 
chattering teeth. “ Come with us. Light- 
ning. Take care of us! ” 

The faithful animal obeyed, rushing 
along with his young charges over the un- 
even rock until they turned a sharp corner 
and dashed down a short passage toward an 
opening ahead, through which the light 
streamed and green grass and bushes could 
be seen. 


petroto ^auin 155 

A series of whoops, an eager bark and 
welcoming neigh, and they were out in the 
sunshine, scoffing at their fears. Pedoro 
performed some of his choicest feats of 
horsemanship for his delighted audience; 
then he took the pony’s face between his 
hands and looked solemnly into the re- 
sponsive eyes. “ Why didn’t you stand by 
us, Hercules?” he asked. 

Hercules shook his head gravely. 

You’re a chump, you are! ” said Walter, 
bending before the pony with his hands on 
his knees and his feet wide apart. 

Pedoro grinned and stepped aside with a 
low word. 

Hercules advanced in dignified silence; 
then, suddenly, he turned and kicked two 
little heels almost in the face of the aston- 
ished Walter, being careful, however, not 
to hit him. 

Walter sprang back, tumbling into a 


156 Mos mao mon 

small hollow, and picked himself up with 
a puzzled look that sent the other boys into 
roars of laughter, while Hercules stood 
quietly facing him as before. 

“ Chump, is he? ” gasped Frank, holding 
his sides. 

“ I gave him the word,” explained Pe- 
doro, apologetically. ‘‘ That is the way the 
clown stands, you know. It just came to me 
to do it.” 

And the pony did the rest,” shouted 
Frank. 

Walter gave a sudden whoop of appre- 
ciation and went up to Hercules. “ That’s 
one on me, old fellow,” he said. Shake! ” 

The pony calmly put one fore foot into 
the outstretched hand. 

But, in the midst of their merriment, a 
shrill yell pierced the air, and a grotesque 
figure came bounding out of the cave. 

Lightning was following the trail of a 


^(tioro 157 

gopher at some little distance. He turned 
at the sound and came flying back to the 
defense. 

He was not needed, however. The 
strange creature, evidently a half-witted 
youth, stood smiling amiably at the boys, 
while he fumbled in his pockets with one 
hand and with the other shaded his eyes 
from the bright sunlight. 

He wore an outfit consisting of a pair of 
overalls and a black frock coat. The latter 
was much too large for him, and one side 
had been torn off below the waist; it was 
slit and slashed in several places and had 
lost all but one of its buttons. He wore no 
hat, and his long, light hair fell almost over 
his eyes. But his face was kind and held 
a gleam of intelligent interest in the group 
before him, while his eyes sought out Pe- 
doro with special approval. 

“ I got something,” he said, withdrawing 


158 Efit Hop Wion 

his hand from his pocket and holding it out 
toward the circus boy. 

Pedoro went up to him fearlessly. 
“ What is it? ” he asked. 

The half-witted boy put two or three 
poker chips into his hand, smiling affection- 
ately. “ I took them from th« man last 
night,” he said. “ He was asleep in the 
cave.” He thrust his hand into his pocket 
again. “Here’s some morel” he an- 
nounced, adding a few slips of paper to the 
collection. “You can have them all.” 

“ Thank you,” said Pedoro, gravely. 
“ Don’t touch him. Lightning.” 

“ He won’t hurt me,” said the half-witted 
boy. “ Nothing ever hurts ” His gen- 
tle blue eyes rested upon the dog, and he 
held out his hand. Lightning went up to 
him, wagging a friendly tail; while the 
others looked on in amazement. 

“ I never knew him to make friends with 


l^elroro ^auin 159 

a stranger before,” said Pedoro, in a low 
voice. “ I mean without being told.” 

He had spoken to the others, but their 
new acquaintance smiled. “ He knows I’m 
God’s child,” he said; “ like him.” 

The boys were awed and sympathetic. 
They pressed close together to look at Pe- 
doro’s collection. 

“Hello!” cried Frank. “These chips 
are just like the one that was in the fire. 
It’s probably the same chap who slept in 
the barn.” 

But Pedoro, white and breathless, was 
staring at one of the slips of paper in his 
hand. “That’s my name! That’s my 
name!” he suddenly cried. 

Frank caught the paper from him and 
read the words written upon it: “ Theodore 
Stone, son of widow who died last week. 
Little blue cross tattooed on left arm near 
the shoulder. Four years old; fair hair, 


160 Hos Wiffo WLon 

dark blue eyes. Father was a minister. 
Good family, but no relatives. Placed boy 
with L. N. & W.’s circus.” The date was 
six years previous. 

Pedoro tore back his left sleeve. See 
it! ” he cried. “ There it is! ” A small blue 
cross was plainly visible upon the white skin 
near the shoulder. 

The other boys were staring at him in 
amazement. 

Pedoro clutched the paper greedily. “ I 
knew it!” he cried. “I always knew it! 
And now I remember the name! ” 

The half-witted boy had been looking on 
in simple delight, while he patted the head 
of the hound and now and then laughed 
softly to himself. “ Edward found it! ” he 
said. “Now Pve got to go!” 

Before they could stop him, he had 
rushed off down the hill, and he soon disap- 
peared in the forest below. Then, after 


Pelroto lei 

their first excitement and rejoicing were 
over, the boys remembered that they, too, 
must go on as quickly as possible for fear 
of being overtaken. 

A half mile tramp through a ravine 
brought them to a strip of timber, and when 
they had pushed through this they found 
themselves on the side of the mountain from 
which the three White Indians had started. 
They came out in a large field at the foot 
of the mountain, and saw Florence and 
Dorothy, with Genevieve Sherman and 
Gladys Bennett at some distance from them. 
They were gathering autumn leaves, and 
each had a large bouquet. 

Frank was about to call to them when a 
fierce bellow stopped him, and the boys 
turned to see a bull pawing up the earth not 
many rods away. He had broken through 
a fence from another field and caught sight 
of the girls. 


162 ss:)ie 3809 WLf^o WLon 

At the same instant they heard the warn- 
ing and realized their danger. There was a 
thrilling pause, then they turned, screaming, 
to run for the trees at the foot of the moun- 
tain. 

The boys, too, were half paralyzed with 
fear for a moment — all but Pedoro. With 
a word to the hound, he sprang upon the 
back of his pony, and the three were off like 
the wind. The next minute the little circus 
boy had passed the terrified girls and was 
careering in the path of the maddened beast, 
his scarlet and gold uniform flaming defi- 
ance in the sunlight. Lightning harrying the 
rear. 

The bull seemed to be going into convul- 
sions — he pawed and rooted and stamped 
and bellowed in blind fury, then made a 
mad rush for the red uniform. 

Pedoro sprang from the pony’s back, 
spoke a word which sent the trembling little 


^gain les 

creature flying to a place of safety, then 
planted himself firmly as he did in the cir- 
cus, called to Lightning, and awaited the 
the charge of his enemy with unflinching 
courage. 

He had not long to wait. One more 
pause to tear up the ground, one more deep 
bellow, and on came the monster, his great, 
short-horned head low down to the ground, 
his cruel eyes gleaming. 

Pedoro watched his chance, white, but 
determined, calculated the distance and the 
time to a nicety, gathered all his forces 
for a desperate effort, and, just as the 
beast reached him, he made a flying 
leap — the finest of his life — and landed 
upon the thick neck of the astonished ani- 
mal, clinging with vise-like arms and 
legs. 

The tables were turned. The bull was 
frightened out of his wits. He stamped and 


164 iSos Wion 

tore around and bellowed, but now with 
more of fear than rage. He dashed round 
and round, shaking himself and ducking his 
head in frenzied efforts to rid himself of his 
fearful burden ; but Pedoro clung like the 
bark to a tree, and Lightning barked trium- 
phantly. 

Then the boy commenced to yell — such 
yells no bull had ever heard before; they 
completed his discomfiture. A more fright- 
ened animal never lived. The scene had 
changed from tragic to comic, and Pedoro 
in his triumph had forgotten the danger of 
attracting attention; while the other boys 
and the girls looked on in trembling admi- 
ration from where they stood in a group 
near the edge of the forest. 

At that moment, however, came the 
sound of reassuring shouts, and two men, 
armed with pitchforks, were seen, running 
toward the scene of action. As they came 


JPelroto ^gain i65 

up, they took in the meaning of the situation 
and stared in amazement. 

The bull stood in abject terror while one 
of the men fitted the iron bar which he car- 
ried to the ring in the creature’s nose; then 
Pedoro slid to the ground, the animal 
starting as his burden dropped from him, 
to relapse again into trembling quiet. 

“ I see you’re from the circus,” said one 
of the men, looking at Pedoro with interest. 

For the first time, the boy remembered 
his own danger, and he looked around fear- 
fully. But the men hastened to reassure 
him, and in another moment the other boys 
came running up. The girls remained at 
a distance until the farmers led away their 
willing captive; but no further questions 
were asked. 

Pedoro hastened away with the White 
Indians, who chose back streets, as they were 
still afraid of pursuit. His story was told 


166 jTjje ms 02 #i|o mon 

with enthusiasm and listened to with eager 
interest, for the girls were ready to take up 
the cause of their small champion; in fact, 
they praised him so much that Pedoro was 
overwhelmed with shyness for a time. Still, 
he was delighted to be with other children, 
and his natural forgetfulness of self helped 
him. 

“ Just think if he hadn’t been there! ” ex- 
claimed Florence. “ Our boys were so far 
away that they could not have done any- 
thing.” 

‘‘ Perhaps we might have yelled and got 
the beast after us,” suggested Frank, mo- 
mentarily jealous of his fame as a brave. 
But the next instant he hastened to give 
Pedoro entire credit. “ Of course we 
couldn’t have done anything like that! ** he 
corrected, with admiring fervor. And, 
anyway, he was mad at Dorothy’s red dress ; 
so I guess he was bound to go for it.” 


PfHotro i67 

“ I had Hercules, you see,” said Pedoro, 
with simple modesty. 

The girls had already become acquainted 
with Hercules; while Lightning, at the 
command of his master, had taken them into 
his good graces. 

When Tommy learned of the new arrival, 
his delight knew no bounds, and he took 
great credit to himself for the rescue of the 
girls. “ If I and Fred hadn’t run away to 
the circus,” he bragged, Pedoro would 
never have tried to come here, and Florence 
and Dorothy would have got all hooked to 
pieces.” 

Mr. and Mrs. Vernon were deeply grate- 
ful to the little circus boy, and they insisted 
upon having him in their own home, where, 
surrounded by White Indians, he was made 
very happy. 

Mr. Vernon at once took up his cause; 
and that very afternoon he had an interview 


168 ©tie iSnfi SSKlio Wion 

with the circus people, which resulted in 
the confirmation of the items obtained from 
the slip of paper and the release of the little 
boy and his pony, as well as the purchase 
of Lightning. 

That night in his white bed, refreshed by 
a bath and clean clothing, Pedoro stayed 
awake as long as he could for fear it would 
prove a delightful dream, from which he 
would waken to find himself back in the 
circus, with Marston cracking his long 
whip and whispering threats if he failed to 
look happy. But, when he opened his eyes 
in the morning, the beautiful sunlight 
showed him the same pretty room ; and his 
heart swelled with such gladness as he had 
never known before, except in that far-away 
time which he remembered as an indistinct, 
but very sweet, dream. 


CHAPTER IX 


REX COMES TO THE RESCUE 

C LIFTON was sullen and disagree- 
able, although not openly quarrel- 
some. He and Carl Simpson were 
always together, and, from being at the 
head of his classes, the former had gradu- 
ally gone down until he held a position not 
much better than the latter. 

Rex had gone to the principal and frankly 
confessed his part in the attack on the old 
house, as had all his party; but they would 
say nothing about the other side, and Pro- 
fessor White did not urge them. 

Gladys and Rex were greatly worried; 
the latter felt that he had, though unwit- 
tingly, caused a great deal of trouble, and 
only the wise counsel of his parents kept him 

169 


170 JiCfft Hos WLon 

from taking the matter too seriously to 
heart. Mr. Bennett seemed blind to the 
condition of things; while Mrs. Bennett 
gave the most of her time to social duties, 
and Clifton went and came as he pleased, 
nursing his resentment until he made him- 
self believe that he was greatly injured and 
that Rex was responsible for all his trouble. 

The White Indians recognized Pedoro as 
a mighty brave and hastened to admit him 
to their council lodge and to make a great 
chief of him, with all the pomp which the 
United Tribes could furnish. 

He shall be ‘ Kwasind, the Strong 
Man,’ said White Bear, with the story of 
Hiawatha fresh in his mind; and the name 
was hailed with enthusiasm. 

“ Kwasind was the friend of Hiawatha,” 
explained Genevieve, and helped him do 
everything he could so that ‘ the tribes of 
men might prosper.’ Hiawatha loved him 


Mtv eonifs to tJie i7i 

very much, and he was the ^ Wise Man,’ the 
^ Teacher.’ ” It was evident that Genevieve 
believed her brother fully equal to his part. 

Pedoro was well pleased. “ I should like 
to be ‘ Kwasind,’ ” he declared. Pedoro 
had not a trace of conceit in his nature. He 
knew that he could do many things that the 
others could not; but he accepted the fact 
as a matter of course because of his training, 
and had no more desire to brag about it than 
he had to deny his skill and strength, which 
proved that the latter was of the mind and 
spirit, as well as the body. 

He became a favorite in school as well as 
out, entering Frank’s classes; for the little 
circus boy had been taught by one of the 
members of the circus, and was quick and 
eager to learn. 

Uncle Will’s heart went out to the orphan 
with love as well as gratitude, and, to the 
delight of his family, no less than of Pedoro 


/ 


172 Mos WLon 

himself, he promptly took measures to adopt 
him. Mr. Vernon also looked up the half- 
witted youth and placed him in a school for 
the feeble-minded, where it was thought 
that he might, in time, recover the reason 
that a serious illness had impaired, and 
which neglect and suffering had not tended 
to restore. 

To this school, Pedoro, who had become 
Theodore Stone Vernon, often went in the 
days that followed, to visit the delighted 
boy in his new surroundings and carry him 
little dainties and luxuries, together with 
pictures, games and books. In these visits 
he was often accompanied by some of the 
other White Indians, and the friendless un- 
fortunate soon found himself possessed of 
many friends. But the little circus boy had 
touched some hidden spring of love which 
flowed more abundantly for him than for 
any other; while Pedoro’s gratitude for the 


to ttje ifteotur 173 

assistance rendered him in learning his 
name and something of his history, was 
never lost sight of in his abundance of gifts, 
and Edward held a warm place in his faith- 
ful heart. 

The former Little Circus King was so 
happy that it was a pleasure to have him 
about, and he was a source of much enter- 
tainment to his companions ; but his sterling 
spirit saved him from being spoiled, and 
through all the changes he kept his tender 
heart and quaint earnestness. 

Rex, also, enjoyed his new home very 
much, except for his trouble with Clifton. 
Gladys was a staunch friend, and Oscar and 
Genevieve were firm allies; while Florence 
tossed her curls scornfully whenever Clifton 
came near and treated him so disdainfully 
that he grew angry at her also. Yet the 
anger hurt him unreasonably; and as for 
Florence — no one knew that she secretly 


174 HOS Z^tlO Wion 

wept over his conduct, for as Uncas he ap- 
pealed strongly to her vivid imagination, 
and she felt indignant that he should not 
prove as noble as the Indian chief whose 
name he had chosen. 

The younger Indians were all clamorous 
in their defense of Rex and loud in their 
threats against Clifton’s peace; but he went 
about haughtily and did not come near the 
council lodge. 

One evening toward the last of Novem- 
ber, Rex and Gladys were reading together 
in the library at the home of the latter, when 
Mr. Bennett entered the room and crossed 
to his desk. 

Gladys spoke to him, but he looked at 
them vaguely. 

^‘1 didn’t see you,” he said; and they 
noticed that his face was white and 
strange. 

Gladys went over to him quickly. 


Mtp (S^omtu to ttie Mmtm 175 

“What’s the matter, papa?” she asked 
timidly, awed by his looks and manner. 

“Nothing,” he answered, sinking into 
his chair and pressing one hand to his 
eyes. 

The little girl hesitated a moment, then 
leaned upon his shoulder with her face close 
to his. “Please tell me, papa!” she 
pleaded. “ Maybe I can help you.” 

He smiled in a heartsick way. “ Help ! ” 
he repeated. “ You couldn’t do anything, 
dear. You’d better run away and read.” 

Rex was about to leave the room quietly, 
but he noticed the pleading look in his 
cousin’s eyes and stood still. 

“ Don’t make us go!” Gladys cried out 
in such a piteous voice that her father took 
her face between his hands and looked at 
it in wonder. Her eyes were brimming 
with tears. “ I can’t rest,” she said, “ unless 
you tell me what is the matter.” 


176 iSoff ZKJlijo WLon 

“Tender little heart!” said her father, 
gently. “ You were not made for worry.” 

“Tell me, papal” pleaded Gladys. “I 
shall worry more if I can’t help you.” 

“Tender little heart!” he repeated, still 
looking at the small face, so full of sympa- 
thy and courage. “ Tender and brave little 
heart! ” Then he drew her to his side and 
was silent a moment in thought. 

“ Perhaps you might as well know it 
now — you will have to very soon, I fear,” 
he said presently. But he waited again. 

“ Yes, papa,” said Gladys. 

“ My little girl,” Mr. Bennett said at last 
in a tone that went to the hearts of his lis- 
teners, “ I’ve lost nearly every penny I had 
in the world. Even our home will have to 
be mortgaged.” 

Rex crossed the room quickly and stood 
beside the desk. 

Gladys clung to her father more closely 


Mtv Cornell to tftt Mtntm m 

than ever, but she turned to her cousin with 
a tearful smile. “What did I tell you?” 
she softly demanded. “ I knew it was 
money.” 

Her father looked from her to Rex with 
questioning curiosity. “ Knew what was 
money? ” he asked. 

“ I knew that was the trouble,” answered 
Gladys. “ Rex and I were talking about it, 
and we said it must be money.” 

Mr. Bennett’s face worked, but he was 
silent. 

“How did it happen, Uncle James?” 
asked Rex, timidly, fearful of seeming to 
intrude. 

“ Oh, it’s a long story, my boy,” replied 
Mr. Bennett, trying to speak in his usual 
tone. “ It began months ago. I had in- 
vested heavily in mining stock in the west, 
and everything pointed to a big rise within 
a short time. I was fooled with a lot of 


178 iSos Wion 

others; yet I had carefully investigated and 
had every assurance of the safety of the 
investment.” 

He paused, but went on as though he 
found some comfort in telling the trouble 
to these sympathetic hearers: “With this 
false light ahead, I ventured beyond my 
depth and bought up more stock than I 
could afford. I got on swimmingly for a 
time and saw a big fortune right near; 
then, of a sudden, things began to go the 
other way. Stock went down; times got 
hard so that my store brought a smaller in- 
come; bills began to come in; and I was 
wondering if it would be possible for me 
to pull through until I got some returns 
from the mines — there was to have been 
a dividend last month — when, only this 
morning, I got news that the mining com- 
pany in which I had invested most heavily 
had failed — the stock is worthless, and the 


3Xtv ^omtu to 179 

whole thing is a dead loss. That leaves me 
stranded. The new barn was an extra ex- 
pense, of course; and there are some bills 
that must be met at once.” 

There was a dead silence; then Rex 
spoke eagerly : “ How much would it take 
to pull you through, Uncle James? ” 

Mr. Bennett started at the sound of his 
voice, and asked him what he had said. 

Rex repeated the question, leaning anx- 
iously across the corner of the desk. 

‘‘ I think five thousand dollars would do 
it,” was the troubled answer. 

Rex stepped forward. “ IVe got some 
money of my own,” he began breathlessly. 
“ It’s just about five thousand, and I know 
how it is placed — father always talks with 
me about it and has me decide things, you 
know, so that I can learn all about it. I can 
get the money for you — I know father will 
say so, too — and I want you to take it and 


180 m)t Hos Wiffo WLon 

use it just as though it was your own. I can 
get along without it. I could work my way 
through college, anyway, if I had to; and 
you can have it just as well as not.” 

He drew himself erect and squared his 
shoulders, looking Mr. Bennett in the eye 
with a determined face. 

The merchant put his daughter gently 
aside and drew Rex close, looking at him 
for a long time, the tears slowly gathering 
in his eyes. 

At last he spoke, brokenly. “ You are like 
your father, my boy — the same generous 
spirit, the same strong and tender nature. 
You are as true as steel, like him.” 

Then he half turned away, pressing his 
hand over his eyes hurriedly. But in a 
moment he looked at Rex again, with a self- 
reproachful expression. “I have not done 
you justice, my boy,” he said. “ I might 
have known — ” 


Mtv (S^omtn to tJje isi 

Rex colored painfully. He understood 
how Clifton’s conduct had influenced the 
reserved man, even against his wish — all 
the more because Clifton was naturally 
truthful and his father had been too pre- 
occupied to study the case. That’s all 
right,” he said hurriedly. “ You didn’t un- 
derstand.” 

Nothing could make me doubt you 
again,” said Mr. Bennett, with remorseful 
sorrow. 

And you’ll take the money? ” urged 
Rex, anxious both to end the painful subject 
and to receive the assurance he desired. 

“ I can’t do that,” replied Mr. Bennett. 
“ I couldn’t think of that. But I thank you 
just as sincerely, and appreciate the offer 
just as truly.” 

“But you must take it!” cried Rex. 
“ Can’t you make him, Gladys?” 

The little girl had gone softly around to 


182 ms mon 

the other side of her father’s chair and was 
leaning on it quietly. Now she put forth 
a tender hand to smooth back his hair and 
bent to kiss him. “ I know Rex wants you 
to take it, papa,” she said with simple sin- 
cerity. “ Of course you could pay it back — 
but couldn’t you take it, just for a little 
while, if Uncle Ralph is willing? ” 

Mr. Bennett shook his head. He was 
leaning one elbow on the desk and his head 
upon his hand. I might not be able to 
pay it back,” he said ; “ although there is no 
reasonable doubt that I could. But — I 
could not take advantage of the generous 
offer. It would be impossible.” 

Rex stepped back, disappointed and 
vaguely hurt. He did not quite grasp the 
full meaning of it all — the fact that to the 
merchant it would seem dishonorable to 
profit by the generosity of a boy. 

At that moment, they heard voices in the 


Mtv itomm to tlje iss 

hall, and Mr. Webster entered the room 
with a cheery word of greeting. But he 
paused as he saw the troubled little group 
by the desk, and waited for his cousin to 
speak. 

Mr. Bennett rose quickly and offered his 
hand. “ Ralph,” he said in a husky voice, 
you’ve got one of the noblest boys in the 
country for a son. I congratulate you.” 

Mr. Webster smiled genially and wrung 
the hand. “ You’re right, Jim,” he replied, 
his handsome face glowing as he looked at 
Rex. “ Thank you for the reminder, but 
to what do I owe it? ” 

Rex was covered with confusion for a 
moment; then he stood erect, a manly fig- 
ure, much like his stately father in minia- 
ture, while Mr. Bennett told the story to 
his cousin. 

“ I was ashamed to let anyone know how 
foolish I had been,” he concluded. “ But 


184 3Bos? WLon 

it will have to come out, of course, and I 
might as well brace up.” 

“ It need not necessarily come out,” said 
Mr. Webster, in his calm, masterful way. 
“ Step into my office to-morrow morning, 
and we’ll fix you up. You could have the 
boy’s money all right, but there is no need.” 
Then his eyes twinkled. “ Do you remem- 
ber, Jim, the two hundred you lent me at 
college when I got in debt foolishly and 
hated to face the governor? ” 

Mr. Bennett smiled naturally for the first 
time in weeks. “ You always were the right 
sort, Ralph,” he said gratefully. “ And that 
son of yours is just like you.” Then his face 
clouded again, and he looked doubtfully 
from the man to the boy and from the boy 
to the man. “ This misunderstanding with 
Clifton — ” he began hesitatingly. 

“Never mind that!” interrupted his 
cousin. “ Let the youngsters settle it. It 


Mtv to ttje Mtottie i85 

will straighten itself out, anyway, if we give 
it time. Your boy is the son of his father, 
and I’ll trust him to do the square thing in 
the end.” 

Only one thing troubled Rex, and that 
was that his offer had not been accepted. 

But Gladys laughed at him in light- 
hearted relief that her father’s trouble had 
been explained and was to be overcome. 
“ What difference does it make,” she said, 
“ as long as he gets the money? And, any- 
way, we helped him; because he wouldn’t 
have told Uncle Ralph if it hadn’t been for 


CHAPTER X 


INDIGNATION 

a ’VE got it, fellows,” shouted Carl 

I Simpson, as he dashed up the sta- 
tion platform toward a group of 
Burke boys who were watching the ma- 
neuvers of a freight engine one Saturday 
morning. 

‘‘ Got what? ” yelled the boys before he 
had reached them. 

“ The position of fireman on Ninety-six.” 

The speaker came up, flushed and trium- 
phant, to be met by exclamations of surprise 
as a number of his friends crowded around 
him. 

Some of the White Indians were passing 
and stopped to see what was going on. 

“Yes, you’ve got it!” scoffed Johnny 


186 


£ntrf0natfon i87 

Smith, when he heard Carl’s statement. 
“ Of course you’ve got it! ” 

“ I tell you it’s straight goods,” grinned 
Carl. I’ve been appointed.” 

“ Guess Smith wishes he was in it,” 
laughed one of the crowd, amidst a tumult 
of observations. 

He’s too young! ” sneered Carl. 

“ So are you! ” Johnny flashed back. 

“ It seems not,” retorted Carl. ‘‘ My ap- 
plication says, ‘ age eighteen.’ ” 

Then you lied!” cried Johnny, indig- 
nantly. “ We all know better than that.” 

Prove it! ” challenged Carl, with an in- 
solent laugh. 

Good for you, Simpson! ” came a shout 
from his admirers. 

But Earl Brown broke in sarcastically: 
That is like the rest of Simpson’s honor.” 
Carl turned on him with a mocking smile. 
Honor nothing! ” he remarked. “ Do you 


188 Zfft SSoj} WLfto WLon 

take me for a donkey? I don’t think I’ll 
wait a year for something I can just as well 
have now. Besides, I’m sick of school.” 

There was another laugh, interrupted by 
Rex Webster’s hot comment: “ He’s given 
himself away! We could tell on him if we 
were as mean as he is.” 

Carl whirled about with a wrathful face. 
“Hello, smarty!” he shouted. “Hadn’t 
you better tell on me yourself? Of course 
whatever you say goes, and I wouldn’t be 
supposed to know my own age. You’d bet- 
ter run right along and tell. That’s a nice 
little boy — tell teacher! ” 

This was greeted by a yell of exasperating 
laughter, through which came Rex’s stormy 
voice: “ Oh, you know you’re safe enough, 
as far as I am concerned, or any of my 
friends. You counted on that.” 

“Of course he did!” cried Earl and 
Johnny in a breath. 


){nlri0nation i89 

‘‘ And it’s worse because there are other 
boys that need the position, and he doesn’t,” 
Rex added. “ He does it just to get out of 
school.” 

“ That’s none of your business,” cried 
Carl, roughly. “You talk too much for a 
boy of your size. Keep your opinion until 
it’s wanted.” 

“ Rex is right, though,” championed 
Earl. “ And I heard you groaning, not 
long ago, because you wouldn’t be old 
enough to go on the road for a year yet.” 

“ All’s fair in firing,” laughed one of 
Carl’s chums. “ Business is business — I 
admire Simpson’s nerve.” 

Johnny turned on his heel to follow his 
friends, who had started to walk on. 
“ Well, all that I’ve got to say is that I de- 
spise a sneak,” he threw back over his shoul- 
der. 

Carl’s face grew purple, and he made a 


190 WL'^o Wion 

move forward, but took good care to remain 
within the shelter of the group that sur- 
rounded him; for, although older and 
larger than the other boy, he knew that 
Johnny was strong and quick. Say that 
again if you think best,” he shouted. “ I’ll 
have you understand I’m no sneak!” 

Johnny stopped and looked him in the 
eye, while the others waited. “ You’ll have 
to change your style to make me understand 
that,” he retorted. ‘‘ I say I despise a sneak, 
and I mean it.” 

Carl glared at him and muttered some- 
thing under his breath ; but he stayed where 
he was. 

Oh, come off! ” cried one of Carl’s fol- 
lowers. What’s the use of kicking up a 
row? Smith naturally feels sore because he 
wasn’t smart enough to get the position him- 
self. Everybody knows how much he’s been 
hanging around Ninety-six.” 


Kntrignation i9i 

Why didn’t you try for it yourself, 
Jack? ” cried another. “ You’re tall enough 
to pass; and Gray would have been tickled 
to death to help you get on. He thinks 
you’re the whole thing.” 

Johnny left the platform in disgust, ac- 
companied by Earl and Rex. 

“I say, cheer up. Smith!” Carl called 
after them. Maybe I’ll be railroad presi- 
dent by the time you’re old enough to serve.” 

There was a shout from those who called 
themselves Carl’s friends; but Johnny and 
his companions walked on without deigning 
to answer. 

Johnny was much interested in the rail- 
road ; and, although it was his parents’ wish 
that he should engage in some less danger- 
ous occupation, they felt that it would be 
neither prudent nor just to oppose him too 
strongly; so they contented themselves with 
keeping him at Burke, promising that after 


192 ms 02*tio WLon 

he was through high school he might go on 
the road if he still wished to do so, but 
hoping he would change his mind. 

Mr. Gray, the engineer of Ninety-six, 
was an old friend of the family and had 
taken a great interest in Johnny. The boy 
was now fourteen, tall and strong for his 
age, quick to learn anything to which he 
applied himself, but more interested in 
machinery and manual training than in 
books. 

Engine Ninety-six was one of the finest 
on the road; and Mr. Gray had taught his 
young friend nearly as much about it as he 
knew himself, delighted with the enthusi- 
asm of his pupil, and predicting a brilliant 
future for him. 

It won’t hurt him to go on the road for a 
while,” he told Mr. Smith. “ But he won’t 
stay there long, mark my word. There’s 
something better ahead for him. Why, he 


Kniflflna^tfon 193 

could run Ninety-six now as well as I can — 
barring anything out of the usual.” 

I wonder what Mr. Gray will think of 
the appointment,” said Earl, as the boys 
went up the street. 

Does he know how old Carl is? ” asked 
Rex. 

I don’t believe he does,” answered 
Johnny. ‘‘ But I never thought of it be- 
fore.” 

I should think he’d be afraid somebody 
would tell,” said Earl. 

‘‘ He knows we wouldn’t,” said Johnny. 
“ And if we did, we might not be able 
to prove anything. He hasn’t been here 
long, you know; and they moved from 
Indiana.” 

“ That’s so,” admitted Earl. 

Well, let him go on,” decided Johnny; 
“ and see how he will come out. We won’t 


interfere with him.” 


194 ®:j|e Mos WL^o WLon 

“ Of course not! ” said Earl and Rex, in 
a breath. 

Mrs. Smith was very indignant when her 
son told the story; but after a while she 
said: ‘‘Never mind, Johnny. He can- 
not succeed — mark my word. Nothing 
but harm can come to him from his 
dishonesty.” 

“ But I can’t bear to think of him on 
Ninety-six!” fumed Johnny. 

“ He won’t be there long,” Maude proph- 
esied. “ I know he won’t; so let him try 
it if he wants to.” 

“ I shall have to let him, anyway,” 
laughed Johnny. “ But I guess I’ll go 
down and have a talk with Mr. Gray.” 

“ Don’t get into any trouble with Carl,” 
said his mother, following him to the door. 
“ Just let him alone — he will feel that as 
much as anything, and it is more manly in 
you.” 


Knlr{0nattoii 195 

“ All right, mother; I don’t want to dirty 
my hands with him,” answered Johnny, as 
he went out. 

He walked quickly down the street, pro- 
ceeding to the hotel where Mr. Gray 
boarded, and found him enjoying a smoke 
upon the piazza. 

“Hello, Jack!” called the engineer, as 
the boy approached. 

Johnny returned the salute rather dis- 
mally. 

“ Whose funeral have you been at? ” 
asked the engineer, blowing into the air a 
cloud of smoke that was no mean imitation 
of that sent forth by his engine. 

Johnny laughed half-heartedly. “Of 
course you know who your new fireman is,” 
he said, by way of an answer. 

Mr. Gray nodded, taking his cigar from 
his mouth and frowning a little. “ But I 
thought that Simpson boy was too young,” 


196 SDoj} WLffO WLon 

he observed, eying his companion keenly 
from under his beetling brows. 

I thought so, too,” said Johnny. 

“ Don^t you know his age? ” 

“ Not exactly.” Johnny turned his head 
to hide a quick flush. 

I suppose you could make a good 
guess.” 

Johnny was silent, and Mr. Gray asked 
no more questions, but proceeded to talk 
about other things. 

“Your father’s away, I suppose,” he re- 
marked. 

“ Yes,” answered Johnny. “ He won’t be 
home till next week.’’ 

“ Likes his new business, does he? ” 

“ Yes,” said Johnny. “ It’s great.” 

Mr. Smith had taken a position as travel- 
ling salesrnan for a large supply house and 
was getting along finely. 

“ You know my vacation begins to-mor- 


Kntriflnation 197 

row,” said Mr. Gray. “ Vm going to take 
a run out to my old home in Ohio. Hate to 
leave Ninety-six to that new engineer. 
Can’t get him out of my mind. I don’t like 
his eyes — there’s something about them 
that bothers me. Can’t tell what it is, 
either — guess I must be getting childish.” 

He laughed with a strength that showed 
no indication of lessening power, however, 
and puffed clouds of smoke into the air as 
he turned his eyes in the direction of the 
roundhouse where his engine was stabled. 
He was a powerful man, in the full vigor of 
life, and his well-shaped head and strong 
features indicated mental, as well as physi- 
cal, force. 

“ Why don’t you warn the company if 
you feel that way about him?” asked 
Johnny. 

“ Why, I’ve seen him only once. I don’t 
know anything about him and have no good 


198 Hos WLon 

reason for feeling squirmy. It would sound 
funny to go and say, ‘ I wish you’d get an- 
other man to run my engine — I don’t like 
that fellow’s eyes.’ ” Mr. Gray gave a great 
laugh, and Johnny joined in it. 

Do you know when Simpson starts? ” 
the latter asked presently. 

“Next Saturday morning.” 

At the station, Carl Simpson and Frank 
Webster were talking excitedly. 

“ I say you’re a coward!” Frank cried. 
“ You put Cliff up to everything and then 
hide behind him. He wouldn’t act so if it 
wasn’t for you.” 

“ Let up on that racket! ” blustered C^rl, 
taking a step forward. Then he caught 
sight of Rex, who was looking for his 
brother. “ That you, Webster? ” he 
drawled. “ I wish you’d call off your 
puppy.” 

Frank was furious. “ If I am a puppy,” 


){ntrisnation 199 

he retorted, “ I’m not a miserable cur, 
prowling around after the bones that belong 
to better dogs.” 

Carl’s face grew livid, and he made a 
threatening movement. Frank stepped 
quickly back out of his way; but he was 
nearer the edge of the platform than he 
thought and lost his balance, falling across 
the track. 

At that moment an express train came 
swiftly around a bend in the road and swept 
forward, the engine shrieking wildly, and 
the engineer frantically putting on his 
brakes; but with no prospect of stopping 
the train in time, for the boy was partly 
stunned by his fall and did not rise. 

There was a flying leap, and Rex landed 
upon the track beside his brother, while 
shrieks and exclamations of horror came 
from all sides. It was over in an instant — 
he dragged Frank from the rails barely in 


200 srije Hos WLffo WLon 

time, and the engine came to a standstill 
just a few feet beyond. 

A crowd of people surged from the train 
to join the group around the two with ex- 
cited questions; but only a few understood 
just what had happened. 

“Where — where am I?’’ asked Frank, 
opening his eyes. 

“You’re all right,” answered Rex. 
“ You fell.” 

The light of remembrance flashed into 
Frank’s face. “Oh, I know!” he cried. 
“Where is that coward?” He got on his 
feet and looked sharply around, but Carl 
was nowhere to be seen. 

“ He probably ran away,” said Rex, 
scornfully. “ Let’s go home.” And, press- 
ing through the eager crowd, many of 
whom had witnessed the rescue and were 
loud in his praise, he led his charge from 
the scene. 


Kntriflnatton 201 

When they reached The Maples, Frank 
had fully recovered, and, between his ad“ 
miration for Rex and indignation at Carl, 
he could not talk fast enough to suit him. 

Mrs. Webster heard the story with a pale 
face, and spoke some needed words of cau- 
tion as well as gratitude for the escape of 
both her boys ; but, when the United Tribes 
heard of the affair, they were enthusiastic 
over the head chief of the Mohawks. 

“He’s all right!” cried Earl. 

“ He’s great medicine!” shouted Oscar. 

“ Rah for White Bear! ” yelled Johnny, 
and the cheer rang out lustily. 

They could not find words strong enough 
to express their opinion of Carl; but, in 
spite of all this, Clifton remained on the 
side of the enemy. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE STRANGE ENGINEER 

A t school things had been going on 
quietly, although there was a feel- 
ing of unrest and mystery among 
the pupils. Professor White had not again 
alluded to the subject which had caused so 
much excitement three weeks before; but 
everyone felt sure that he would sift the 
matter thoroughly, and that the offender 
would, sooner or later, be discovered. In- 
deed, a good many thought that the princi- 
pal was already certain with regard to the 
guilty person; for very little escaped his 
keen eyes and penetration. 

Some had accused Rex and his party of 
taking the skeleton, and, although the 


202 


JKfje Sttan0e JBnsinttv 203 

charge was indignantly denied, a few were 
still ready to believe it. The White Indians 
were quite sure that either Carl or Clifton 
was the guilty party, or that, probably, one 
had assisted the other; for they all agreed 
that Carl was too cowardly to do it alone. 
But they kept their suspicions to themselves, 
and, if Professor White guessed, or had 
already found out about the matter, he took 
no further steps in it. 

“ He knows all about it,” declared Rex. 

That’s what I think, too,” agreed 
Oscar. 

“ He usually does know all about things,” 
said Earl. 

It’s like him to keep quiet and then 
spring something on us,” said Johnny. 
“ You can’t fool him much! ” 

Many thought that Carl had left school 
for fear of being expelled, and they ques- 
tioned Clifton eagerly. But Clifton would 


204 Hop Wion 

say nothing. The White Indians declared 
that he was glad of Carl’s appointment be- 
cause he thought it troubled them. They 
held indignant meetings in the council 
lodge and were almost ready to pronounce 
Clifton a squaw-man, but refrained on 
Gladys’s account. 

“But he is a squaw-man!” declared 
Frank one day when Gladys was not pres- 
ent. “ If he’s gone and done something, he 
ought to own up, anyway. I wouldn’t be 
a coward.” 

“ I don’t think Clifton is afraid to own 
up,” said Rex, generously. “ He just won’t, 
that’s all.” 

Pedoro, who always saw the best side of 
people, put in a good word for the absent 
Indian. 

“ It will come out all right, as it did 
about me,” he said in his quaint way. 
“ Maybe he is just made up for a squaw- 


S^tvmst lEnQimtv 205 

man, and you will find out by and by that 
he is really a great brave.” 

“ Pedoro is a brave Indian! ” chimed in 
little Grace. She had taken the former 
circus boy into her good graces, and de- 
lighted in singing his praises. 

But Pedoro blushed and hastened to ex- 
plain. “ I didn’t mean that,” he pro- 
tested. “ I mean that I was not Span- 
ish.” 

“You’re all right, Kwasind!” cried 
White Bear. “ You can’t help being a great 
brave if you try.” 

“ I am just a strong man,” objected Pe- 
doro. 

“ Of course all strong men scare bulls and 
save lives,” said Earl. 

“Of course!” the others chimed in, and 
Pedoro’s protests were drowned. 

On Saturday morning, Johnny was at 
the station when Ninety-six, puffing and 


206 tEfit ^^os Wion 

steaming, stood waiting impatiently to be- 
gin the day’s work. It was Carl’s first run, 
and he was looking as important as though 
he owned the road. 

“ I’ll speak a good word for you. Smith, 
when I get to be president,” he said to 
Johnny, as he swung himself up to his place 
in the cab. 

Johnny made no reply; but, urged by 
some unaccountable impulse, he suddenly 
determined to make the trip to Burford. 
He had pocket money of his own, and, as 
he had intended to go out to the farm, he 
knew that his mother would not worry 
about him. 

As the train pulled out,' he sprang upon 
the platform of the rear coach and was soon 
flying along over the road where he hoped 
to make his own run sometime. But Carl 
Simpson, instead of Johnny Smith, was fire- 
man ; and, to the eager boy, the time when 


strange Engineer 207 

he might fill the coveted position seemed 
very far away. 

After a little he passed forward through 
the coaches, too much abstracted to notice 
anyone until he heard his name called. He 
turned to find Mr. Sherman beckoning to 
him, and took the vacant seat beside him 
with a glow of pleasure, for he liked the 
dignified railroad president and did not find 
him as stern as many thought him. 

His new friend talked of railroading in 
its different aspects, and the boy listened 
with eager attention, drinking in every 
word. He was also led to speak freely of 
himself, his hopes and plans, what Mr. 
Gray had taught him, and his own love for 
Ninety-six. 

“ She seems just like a living creature,” 
he cried enthusiastically, and falling into 
the trainmen’s style of speaking. She 
obeys you as well as a horse, and Mr. Gray 


208 2r|ie Hos! WLon 

thinks there never was an engine like her. 
I believe it would kill him if anything hap- 
pened to her.” 

Mr. Sherman smiled gravely. ‘‘ An en- 
gine is certainly a wonderful piece of 
mechanism,” he agreed. “ It does seem to 
have life.” Then he turned to Johnny with 
an abrupt question. “ Did you think the 
Simpson boy would get the place of fire- 
man? ” he asked. 

Johnny flushed and hesitated. Why, 
I — I didn’t know he thought of applying 
for it,” he stammered. 

Why not? ” persisted Mr. Sherman. 

Johnny was distressed. The searching 
eyes bent upon his face seemed to read 
every thought. “He — I — why, I ought 
to have thought of it,” he managed to reply 
haltingly enough. 

Just then a friend of the railroad presi- 
dent came up, and Johnny rose to give him 


JSri^e lEnainttv 209 

the seat mat he had been occupyingj glad 
to escape, and afraid he had said more than 
he ought — for he hardly knew what he had 
said. But, when he thought it over, he was 
sure he had not spoken against Carl. He 
wondered if Oscar knew of the deception; 
and, if so, had he told his father? Johnny 
had shunned the council lodge for a few 
days, his mind preoccupied by thoughts 
of Ninety-six; and, although the story had 
gone around, Oscar had not mentioned it to 
him. 

Thinking earnestly, Johnny passed on 
through the coaches toward the front of the 
train. He was acquainted with all the 
crew, and different ones stopped him to ex- 
change a few words. 

Wish you could be in Simpson’s place,” 
said the conductor, as he paused for a mo- 
ment to talk with him. They all knew the 
boy’s ambition. 


210 Efit iSos Wii)o WLon 

“ I wish so, too,” said J ohnny. 

“ But I didn’t know Simpson had any 
immediate intention of going on the road,” 
continued the conductor. I thought he 
was going to school.” 

“ He was,” admitted Johnny. 

“ It wouldn’t have hurt him to stay 
there,” laughed the conductor. 

Johnny met one of the brakemen at the 
door of the baggage car. 

I say. Jack,” cried the man, that fel- 
low Simpson is going to get into trouble if 
he keeps on.” 

‘‘ Why, what’s the matter? ” asked 
Johnny. 

“ Oh, he thinks he runs the train — puts 
on more airs than the president of the road.” 

Johnny laughed somewhat absently. 
“ That’s Simpson,” he said. 

He went on to the front end of the car, 
replying to the greeting of the baggage-man 


IBnainttx 211 

as he passed, and stood leaning against the 
door, looking out at the engine with envious 
thoughts. 

Ninety-six was a magnificent piece of 
machinery, with its four massive drive 
wheels, its mammoth boiler, glistening like 
a mirror, its handsomely finished and ap- 
pointed cab, and its powerful headlight. 
It was the special pride and pet of Engineer 
Gray, who had taken it back and forth on 
this run ever since it first made its appear- 
ance at Thornton, and who cared for it as 
if it had really been a living creature, as it 
seemed to him. 

He had lost wife and child, and the 
pent-up affection in his big heart had turned 
to this great monster that obeyed his will 
with the utmost docility. Johnny also re- 
ceived a large share of the affection, which 
he returned with sincere regard and admi- 
ration; while he was almost as much in 


212 nos Wifto Wion 

love with the splendid engine as was Mr. 
Gray himself. 

He looked upon it longingly now, and it 
hurt him to think that Carl had anything to 
do with his iron pet. The run, also, was an 
important one, and Mr. Gray the one engi- 
neer of all he knew whom he would have 
been delighted to serve. Johnny sincerely 
wished he was a few years older. 

After a few minutes he obeyed another 
unaccountable impulse and went out upon 
the platform of the car, where he stepped 
upon the seat of a trainman’s tricycle that 
was placed there, and peered cautiously 
over the tank into the cab. The occupants 
did not observe him, and he was at once 
attracted by something peculiar in their ap- 
pearance. 

“ That engineer has a queer look,” he 
thought, eying him closely. I don’t won- 
der Mr. Gray didn’t fancy him. And what 


Sflf ^tvunat lEnalmtv 213 

in the world is Carl watching him so for? 
I wonder if he has got a scolding so quick. 
He would look mad if he had; he’s got an 
ugly temper and never can take reproof, no 
matter how kindly it is given. 

‘‘ Well, he acts strangely enough — keeps 
as far away from the engineer as he pyDSsibly 
can — looks afraid of him. He fairly 
dodged that time when Gates went by him ! 
And the engineer is as bad as he is! 

^‘What’s the matter with the man? His 
face is as white as a sheet! He must be sick. 
And his eyes — I don’t wonder Mr. Gray 
called his eyes queer! He moves as though 
he didn’t know what he was doing — I say. 
Black!” He turned to look for the 
baggage-man, but the latter had left the 
car. 

Absorbed in the scene before him, Johnny 
pressed forward and watched proceedings 
breathlessly. He had good reason to think 


214 Etit ^os WLiio WLon 

that both Carl and the engineer were acting 
strangely. 

Carl’s face was white and frightened, and 
he kept as far as possible from his compan- 
ion, dodging at every near approach and 
forgetting to put in coal until it was appar- 
ent that the engineer gave him a sharp re- 
primand. This he accepted without a sign 
of resentment, shoveling in the fuel excit- 
edly, with one eye over his shoulder, watch- 
ing every move of his superior. 

The latter was now acting in a still more 
unaccountable manner. He darted from 
side to side of the cab, seized the shovel 
himself and piled in more coal; then 
pressed his hands to his head and strained 
his eyes along the track in front as though 
expecting some danger. 

Johnny raised himself on tiptoe and 
craned his neck to get a view of the road 
ahead, finding that it was perfectly clear. 


Sttrangt IBttQimtv 215 

He looked back again to see signs of increas- 
ing fear in Carl’s face and manner. 

Suddenly, with no apparent reason, the 
engineer put on the brakes, and the train 
slowed down. 

The next instant his voice rose in fury 
above the noise of the engine and the clat- 
ter of the cars : “ There she comes, the flying 
fiend! But we’ll crush her in another min- 
ute. Clear the track! ” 

His hand was upon the throttle. 

Carl gave one unearthly yell and jumped 
from the engine, just as the limited from 
Burford passed them on the other side. In 
a second the engineer had pulled the throt- 
tle wide open, and the engine bounded for- 
ward at a terrific speed, which sent the wind 
whistling around Johnny’s ears and took his 
cap from his head with a sudden sweep, 
while it forced him to cling on tightly to 
keep from following. 


216 ISOS 2IH)|0 Wion 

On they rushed with madder and madder 
speed, the cars swaying behind them and 
the scenery along the road flying by in a 
confused blur. 

The boy’s heart stood still. 

“ He is crazy! ” he whispered with white 
lips. “ And Burford is only six miles ahead. 
We should stop there, and if we go on we 
shall run into the Deerfield passenger, 
which has only twenty minutes’ start.” 

It was true, and a frightful accident was 
almost certain. 

Johnny grew sick and faint for a moment, 
as he clutched his swaying support; then 
the blood came dashing back through his 
veins. 

The engineer, with his hand still on the 
throttle, was straining his gaze ahead and 
talking wildly to some imaginary enemy, 
while the train seemed flying faster and 
faster toward certain destruction. 



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Sttange iSnofneetr 217 

Johnny set his teeth tight together, stead- 
ied himself and let go his hold; then he 
pulled off his coat, giving it a fling back- 
ward through the open door of the baggage- 
car, and the next minute was climbing over 
the tender toward the cab, clinging desper- 
ately to the rushing, swaying monster, that 
seemed determined to throw him off. 

Breathless and colorless, but with tense 
muscles and steady nerves, he dropped into 
the back of the cab and sprang forward 
behind the mad engineer, bracing himself 
for a shock. As the man turned Johnny 
gathered all his strength and gave him a 
well-directed blow in the pit of the stomach. 
The burly fellow doubled up like a jack- 
knife and toppled to the floor of the cab, 
where he lay writhing and gasping, while 
Johnny sprang over him to his place at the 
throttle. 

Not a moment was to be lost. The boy 


218 STiie Hos WLcn 

shut off the steam to a safe pressure, and, 
knowing that he had a clear track, took the 
train at a flying speed toward its destination, 
his attention divided between the track and 
the floundering engineer. 

He knew that he would be in a little 
ahead of time, and so, as they came in sight 
of the station, he kept a sharp lookout for 
switch engines; but the way was clear, and 
they steamed up to the platform just as the 
madman was trying to struggle to his feet, 
muttering dire vengeance upon his assail- 
ant. 

Johnny brought the train to a standstill 
and beckoned to a policeman who was ap- 
proaching. The officer, having taken in the 
presence of danger at the first glance, hur- 
ried forward, and the position was quickly 
explained to him. 

He called some trainmen to his assistance, 
the sight of the boy engineer having at once 


&tvmat iSnsinttx 219 

attracted a group; and Johnny, resigning 
his post to a regular engineer who was off 
duty and had been standing on the platform, 
descended from the cab into the midst of a 
curious crowd, made up of Burford people 
and the former occupants of the train he 
had just brought to safety out of dreadful 
peril. 

They surged around him, asking num- 
berless questions, for all had been greatly 
shaken by the frightful speed, and Johnny 
was trying to answer as briefly as possible, 
feeling very weak now that the excitement 
was over, when he heard a number of 
voices saying, ‘‘Oh, here is Mr. Sherman! 
Let Mr. Sherman pass! ” 

The railroad president drew Johnny 
aside and questioned him closely with re- 
gard to the whole affair. 

“ Why could not Simpson have climbed 
back over the tender when the train slowed 


220 ms mon 

up so, and given warning? ” he asked, after 
he had heard the whole story. “ You say 
the engineer was absorbed at that time in 
what he fancied he saw down the road.” 

‘‘ Yes, sir,” admitted Johnny; “ but I sup- 
pose he didn’t think of that — it must have 
been an awful place to be in.” 

“ Without doubt,” said the president, ey- 
ing the boy closely. But how about your- 
self? I don’t imagine the thing was much 
of a joke to you, was it? ” 

Johnny flushed. ^^Why,” he answered, 
looking as if the point suggested had not 
occurred to him before, “ you see I had 
been watching for some time — I saw how 
things were going.” 

“ Ah! ” said Mr. Sherman. 

And I don’t know what the engineer 
said to him,” Johnny went on, determined 
to be just, even to an enemy. Perhaps he 
threatened to kill him,” 


STfie Strange iSngtneetr 221 

Very likely/’ Mr. Sherman commented. 
“ And I fancy your life would not have been 
worth much if he had revived a little 
sooner.” 

Johnny colored more than ever, but said 
nothing. 

Had you planned your attack before 
you climbed into the cab?” was the next 
question. 

‘^Yes, sir; while I was crawling over. 
I meant to do something when I started, but 
I didn’t know just what.” 

“ Where did you learn to hit like 
that? ” 

Mr. Gray taught me.” 

“ But suppose he had looked around just 
before you got off the tender? ” 

“ I don’t know,” admitted Johnny. 

The president drew out his watch. “ I 
must go on this train,” he said. “ Impor- 
tant business calls me away for two weeks 


222 smuo WLon 

or more. I have wired back that we are 
all safe.” 

In the meantime, the story had been well 
circulated, and an eager crowd surged 
around Mr. Sherman and Johnny. 

A gentleman of distinguished appearance 
stepped up, holding his hat in his hand. 
Bowing to the president of the road, he 
turned to the boy. 

I want to express my gratitude to you, 
my young friend,” he said ; “ also the grati- 
tude of these people whom you have saved 
to-day. I want to shake hands first, and 
then I want to present a small, but sincere, 
token of appreciation for a heroic deed.” 

When he released Johnny’s hand, he of- 
fered him a large purse. ‘‘ It is only fifty 
dollars,” he explained ; but we hope you 
will accept it in the spirit in which it is 
offered.” 

Johnny drew back, flushed and confused, 


Sttanfle lEnaimtv 223 

and not sure whether he should be pleased 
or offended. ‘‘ I couldn’t take it,” he said. 
“ I couldn’t take it! ” 

“ They mean it kindly,” said Mr. Sher- 
man, in a low tone. 

“But I couldn’t take it!” persisted 
Johnny, in distress. He wanted to run 
away — to get home and have the “ fuss ” 
ended. His sturdy boy’s heart resented this 
offer of money for what he considered an 
act of duty. 

“ But here it is,” said the gentleman. “ It 
has been collected — what shall I do with 
it if you refuse to take it? It can’t be given 
back.” 

Johnny’s face suddenly brightened. “ I 
wish,” he said, “ you would give it to Mr. 
Sherman and ask him to hand it to the 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. I’d 
like them to have it.” 

His words were received with a cheer, 


224 MOV! WLon 

and the matter had scarcely been settled 
when the call “All aboard!” hurried the 
passengers to their places. 

Mr. Sherman held out his hand. “ Your 
deed is beyond thanks,” he said. “ My boy, 
I am your debtor again.” 

From the vestibule of the car he raised 
his hat, and Johnny put up his hand to re- 
turn the salute ; but as his cap was missing, 
he was obliged to content himself with a 
bow. 

As the train pulled out, a hearty cheer, 
together with the waving of hands and 
handkerchiefs, paid a final tribute to the 
brave boy who had risked his life to save 
so many. 

Johnny felt a glow at his heart. He was 
glad to have been the means of averting a 
terrible accident, and glad to have saved 
Ninety-six from injury. He knew Mr. 
Gray would be proud of him, and that he 


Ctje Stvaufle iSnsineetr 225 

would be thankful, also, that the engine was 
unharmed. 

There was another thought which 
brought a thrill to Johnny’s heart — he felt 
now that he had earned the right to be a 
chief among the White Indians. “ I’m the 
oldest of the lot,” he told himself; “but 
even Walter had done more to prove his 
courage than I had. And I was the one who 
started our tribe.” 

Johnny forgot the incident of the fire, or 
at least he did not look upon his feat as a 
very courageous one. “ The fire company 
would have been there pretty soon, any- 
way,” he argued; “ so probably the building 
wouldn’t have burned. And it wasn’t so 
much of a trick to go up there when a fel- 
low’s used to climbing.” But he thought it 
only fair to admit that not every boy could 
have rescued Ninety-six and a trainload of 
people. 


CHAPTER XII 


THE spider’s web 

I N the meantime, Carl Simpson had re- 
turned to Thornton. He had not been 
hurt in jumping from the train; and, 
after assuring himself that the engineer did 
not think of following him, he began to pull 
himself together, and, finally, after walking 
along the track for a little distance, sat 
down on the grass by the side of it. 

He was a coward, and so naturally his 
first and last thought was for himself. 
‘‘Will they discharge me?” he wondered. 
“ They’ve no business to. I didn’t hire out 
to work with a lunatic. They couldn’t ex- 
pect me to stay there and get killed. I wish 
I knew whether anyone saw it or not. If 


226 


JTJie 227 

they didn’t, I might say he knocked me off, 
and then they couldn’t do anything if the 
whole train was smashed.” 

He jumped up excitedly. “ I’ve got it! ” 
he cried. The coal train that leaves Bur- 
ford at twelve! They’ll hear all about it. 
I’ll wait here for them and ride back to 
Thornton without going to Burford. In 
that way I won’t have to say anything until 
I know what to say. Pete Bliss is a friend 
of mine — I’ll get it out of him all right. 
Nothing like standing in with the trainmen. 
Guess I’ll say I strained my side. That will 
account for my waiting here. 

“ If anyone did see it,” he went on, “ I 
can say he told me to jump, or he would kill 
me, and he was going to stop at Burford all 
right.” 

Well satisfied with his plan, Carl sank 
down upon the grass, stretching and yawn- 
ing. “ I’ve got time enough before they 


228 nos WL^O Wion 

come along,” he said to himself. “ Guess I 
may as well take a nap.” 

When the coal train drew near, he sig- 
nalled it, and the engineer stopped to take 
him on. 

Hurt, are you? ” asked Pete. 

Sprained side,” groaned Carl. 

“ That’s too bad,” said Pete. And 
Smith had to come in ahead.” 

The fireman grinned. 

“ Smith! ” echoed Carl, in amazement. 

‘‘ Sure!” 

What are you giving us? ” 

The fireman’s grin grew wider. 

‘‘ Why,” explained the engineer, “ you 
see it was this way: After you jumped. 
Smith climbed over the tank, hit the crazy 
loon a rap in the stomach, and took the train 
in as big as life. They’ve been almost car- 
rying him on their shoulders ever since. 
Pity you couldn’t have done it. But how a 


sriie Witit 229 

boy of his size could hit like that is what 
gets me.” 

Carl had been doing some rapid thinking, 
for him, aided, no doubt, by the success of 
his rival. “Who told that yarn?” he de- 
manded. 

“ Why, Smith himself.” 

“ No one else, I suppose.” 

“No — no one else saw it. The baggage- 
man had stepped out a minute, and it was 
all over as quick as scat.” 

“ I should think sol ” 

“ What’s the matter? You look as though 
something was up.” 

“ I guess you'd look as though something 
was up,” cried Carl, “ if you’d laid out a 
madman who had followed you clear to the 
edge of the cab before you could get a hit 
at him, and then somebody had jumped on 
you from behind just as you had settled him, 
and knocked you into the ditch, and gone 


230 iSos WLon 

on to take all the glory. Maybe you'd look 
as though something was up 1 ” 

Carl had waxed indignant over this 
smoothly invented story, and both engineer 
and fireman were gazing at him with open 
mouths. 

“That don’t sound much like Jack 
Smith,” said the fireman. 

“ N — no,” admitted the engineer. 

“You can believe it or not,” blustered 
Carl. 

“ Now don’t get hot, Simpson,” urged the 
engineer. “ I haven’t said I didn’t believe 
you.” 

Carl followed up his advantage. “ I 
should think you could taste fish in Smith’s 
story,” he cried. “ Looks likely he could 
lay out a big fellow like Gates.” 

“ That’s so,” assented Pete. 

The fireman, a bright Irish boy, said 
nothing; but there was a peculiar twist to 


Suwerfii mti} 231 

his mouth as he shoveled in more coal, and 
he eyed Carl with a scrutiny that made the 
latter uncomfortable. 

When they reached Thornton, Carl’s ap- 
pearance was hailed with astonishment, for 
the story of the rescue had not yet been cir- 
culated. 

“ Where did you drop from, Simpy? ” 
called one of his crowd. 

“ Got promoted, so quick? ” asked Oscar 
Sherman, who, with Rex and Earl, hap- 
pened to be crossing the platform as the 
freight train pulled in. Oscar had not yet 
heard of his father’s telegram. 

“What is it — superintendent of the 
road, or president, in place of Mr. Sher- 
man?” asked Earl Brown. 

Rex looked on scornfully, but did not 
speak. 

“What’s the matter, Carl?” questioned 
one of his admirers, coming up anxiously as 


232 SJlt nos WLon 

the new fireman stepped limpingly to the 
platform. 

“ Ask Pete,” directed Carl, with a mean- 
ing look. 

‘‘What is it. Bliss?” called out a dozen 
voices, while a group of men and boys 
gathered around. 

He waited until the fireman had adjusted 
the water-spout, then told the story as Carl 
had told it to him. “ And then Smith took 
the train in and told how he had laid Gates 
out,” he finished. “ And the people made 
up a purse for him; and Mr. Sherman 
shook hands with him; and they waved and 
shouted as the train pulled out. — I couldn’t 
have believed it of Smith! ” 

“If you hadn’t been a dunce!” com- 
mented the fireman. 

“ What’s that? ” demanded the engineer, 
turning sharply. 

“ I say he was a dunce if he wanted to risk 


WLti} 233 

his own life instead of Simpson’s,” called 
back the fireman. 

“ The risk was over,” put in Carl. 
“ Everything was done but to take the train 
in.” 

“ Oh, come off! ” cried Earl Brown, an- 
grily. 

“ I should think you’d say ^ Come off! ’ ” 
groaned Carl, pressing his hand to his 
side. 

“Own up, Simpson!” shouted Oscar. 
“ Anyone ought to know you were scared 
and jumped.” 

Carl turned an aggrieved face. “ Would 
I dare stand here and lie like that?” he 
demanded, straightening himself up with 
an injured air. “ Wouldn’t I be found 
out? ” 

“ Of course! ” cried several voices. 

“You will be!” Earl assured him; but 
Carl had gained an advantage with the 


234 mos WLffO Wion 

crowd and hastened to follow it up. He 
told a thrilling story which was listened to 
eagerly. 

“ There I was,” said he, “ shut up in the 
cab, with that lunatic raving around and 
threatening to kill me at every turn. But 
I thought of the Deerfield passenger and 
was bound to save the two trains no matter 
what happened to me. And just as I had 
managed to settle the engineer, up creeps 
Smith from behind and knocks me over- 
board.” 

In the midst of the groans and hisses 
which greeted this story, the coal train 
moved out; but the crowd at the station had 
been increased by several more of Carl’s 
followers, who took up the tale with a relish 
and grew loud in their denunciations of 
Johnny. 

In vain the White Indians defended him. 
The tide was against him and was rising 


SJje SjitJrers mti^ 235 

higher and higher when a Burford train 
rushed into the station and the object of the 
discussion stepped upon the platform, to be 
greeted by a chorus of derision which nearly 
drowned the Burke cheer started by the 
three Indians. 

Johnny’s friends were too few in number, 
as well as too youthful, to quell the disturb- 
ance. Mr. Simpson, a short, thick-set man 
with red hair and beard, had appeared upon 
the scene a few minutes before, and, having 
heard his son’s story, was now storming up 
and down the platform in a rage. 

“ I’ll have the law on you! ” he shouted, 
as he caught sight of the astonished boy. 
“ I’ll teach you to push people off trains.” 

Johnny’s defenders pressed through the 
increasing crowd and joined him as, too 
astounded to speak, he stood just where he 
had stepped from the train. He looked 
neither guilty nor frightened, and some. 


236 jjjie J30JJ WLffO WLon 

who had been only half convinced by CarPs 
assertions, began to waver. 

There was a lull in the tempest, and 
Johnny turned to the Indians to ask what it 
was all about. His face grew white with 
indignation as he listened to the story, and 
he could hardly keep quiet long enough to 
hear it out. 

‘‘ It’s a cowardly lie! ” he cried, straight- 
ening his manly form and giving Carl a 
look before which he quailed. “ Let him 
come and tell me that story! ” 

But Carl was groaning with the pre- 
tended pain in his side and leaning against 
his father. 

“We will attend to your case later!” 
stormed the latter. “You don’t get a 
chance to pitch into my boy again to-day.” 

“ Simpson is the biggest! ” yelled a voice 
from the crowd. 

His father turned fiercely. “ What dif- 


®tie Sniirerfij mtt 237 

ference does that make,” he cried, “ if he is 
taken by surprise and attacked from be- 
hind?” 

This turned the principal tide of sym- 
pathy again toward the guilty party; and 
Johnny, too indignant and disgusted for 
further words, left the crowd, which, in the 
main, was made up of the rougher element 
of the town, and walked away with his 
friends, followed by some jeers and taunts. 

At the lower end of the platform, they 
met one of the passengers of the train that 
had just pulled out, returning from a talk 
with the engineer. 

‘‘What’s up?” asked the man, who was 
an acquaintance of the boys. 

“ Carl Simpson — up a tree,” answered 
Earl; “ and he can’t get down, so he throws 
stones at the other fellow.” 

Oscar and Rex hurriedly explained mat- 
ters, and the newcomer, a Burford man who 


238 iSos WLiiO WLon 

had heard all about the brave deed, told 
Johnny’s side of the story, fully and 
graphically, to those who stood near. 

The crowd was coming down that way, 
and the speaker raised his voice so that his 
words could be heard by those at a distance. 
“ A fine reception to give a hero! ” he ex- 
claimed, frowning at the approaching dis- 
turbers, who greeted the word hero ” with 
a groan. “ I’ll give them a piece of my 
mind.” 

Don’t get into trouble on my account! ” 
urged Johnny. “ Guess I can stand it.” 

“ Don’t you worry about me — I’m not 
afraid of this crowd,” was the answer. 

The man was determined to have his own 
way, and, as Johnny was anxious to get 
home before his mother should be disturbed 
by reports of the danger he had been in and 
the injustice shown him upon his return, the 
White Indians went on. 


239 


sudre^fii mtf} 

“ I didn't suppose even Carl Simpson 
could be such a sneak as that! ’’ cried Rex, 
indignantly. 

“ I could hardly keep from pitching into 
him,” said Earl. “ He ought to have had a 
sample of the hit you gave the crazy en- 
gineer.” 

“ Wish he could have had! ” cried Oscar. 

“ It would only have made things worse,” 
said Johnny. “And of course we didn’t 
want a fight.” 

“ Of course not! ” agreed Rex, quickly. 

“ But you can prove you are telling the 
truth, can’t you?” asked Earl. 

“ I don’t know,” replied Johnny, with 
troubled slowness. “ Probably Carl is 
pretty sure that no one saw it. — But I 
hadn’t thought of that before.” 

“ I know our folks will stand by you,” de- 
clared Rex, stanchly. 

“I should think so!” agreed Earl. “I 


240 siTDe Mos WLfio Wion 

guess you wouldn’t catch ours going back 
on you, either.” 

Oscar broke in with hearty good will. 
“Count us in, tool” he cried. “I know 
father likes you.” 

“ But how will he know — ” began 
Johnny. 

“ How can you tell a lion from a fox? ” 
laughed Oscar. 

“ How can you tell a bully from a hero? ” 
added Rex. 

Earl was not to be outdone. “ How can 
you tell an eagle from a hawk? ” he de- 
manded. 

The object of all this frank approval 
flushed with pleasure and gratitude. “ You 
fellows are all right,” he laughed. “ But if 
you keep on you’ll give me the big- 
head.” 

“ No danger of you. Jack,” replied Earl. 

The boys went into the house with Johnny 


Sjjttrers WLtf) 241 

when they reached his home, and were glad 
to find that his mother had not been wor- 
ried about him. 

‘‘Have you just got back from the farm?” 
she asked. “ Mrs. Sherman sent word to 
me that there had been a railroad accident, 
but no one was injured. Did you hear about 
it?” 

“ That’s all they knew about it them- 
selves,” said Oscar. “ Of course father 
wouldn’t say much for fear of frightening 
us.” 

“Have you heard anything more?” 
asked Maude, coming forward anxiously. 

The boys looked at one another with 
questioning glances, and Johnny shook his 
head ; but Earl took the matter into his own 
hands. 

“ He’s gone and made a hero of himself 
again,” he declared, taking the chair that 
was offered him. 


242 Efft 3009 WLliO WLon 

“What do you mean?” cried Maude; 
while her mother grew a little pale and 
begged him to explain. 

Johnny’s bravery was told with eager sat- 
isfaction, and was received with startled 
pride and emotion, even the younger chil- 
dren appreciating the danger through 
which their brother had passed. Bertha 
clung to him with big eyes, and Wal- 
ter flushed and paled by turns as he lis- 
tened. 

“ He’s great medicine! ” cried Oscar, car- 
ried away with the enthusiasm of the mo- 
ment. 

“ There isn’t any name big enough for 
him,” declared Rex, with generous appre- 
ciation. 

Mrs. Smith and Maude were very quiet; 
but, after the tumult had subsided, the 
former asked a question in a low voice: 

“ There is more, is there not? ’’ 


®f|e WLt'b 243 

“ How did you know? ” inquired Earl 
and Oscar, in a breath. 

“ I saw it in your faces,” she answered. 

It was Rex who finished ; and he told the 
events that had marked Johnny’s return with 
an indignation that left no room for doubt 
of his faith in his friend, even if such a 
doubt had been possible; while Earl and 
Oscar helped to emphasize the story, also 
the sympathy of the White Indians. 

Mrs. Smith listened in pained silence. 

“ I do not understand how anyone can 
be so unjust,” she said when it was 
ended. 

‘^They’re as bad as Carl!” said Maude, 
her eyes flashing, although her lips trem- 
bled. “ But you can prove what you say, 
can’t you, Johnny? ” 

“ I don’t see how I can,” answered 
Johnny, with a worried look. “ Carl must 
be sure that no one was in sight. It was on 


244 jETfie }$os WLon 

that lonely strip of road, you know, just a 
few miles this side of Burford.” 

Perhaps Carl will own up,” suggested 
Walter. 

“Not much, unless he has to,” scoffed 
Earl. 

“We’ll make him own up!” cried 
Rex. 

Johnny laughed. “ I guess not! ” he said. 
Then he added as a second thought, “ Unless 
we scared him into it.” 

“ I would let him alone,” advised Mrs. 
Smith. “Truth is bound to conquer in 
time.” 

“ Something will come up to clear you,” 
cried Maude, catching her mother’s spirit. 

“ And the Simpsons can’t do anything 
except to set some of the rough-scuff against 
you — they can’t prove anything that is not 
so,” Earl chimed in. 

“Not really,” said Johnny. “They 


JETl^e WLtI} 245 

might hire some one for a false witness, I 
suppose; but I guess they won’t. I’m not 
afraid of them.” 

When the three boys had gone, Maude 
turned to her brother with a hesitating ques- 
tion: “ Do you think Mr. Sherman will be- 
lieve Carl’s story? ” 

“ I don’t believe he will,” answered 
Johnny, with sturdy faith. “ I think he 
can see through a stone wall.” 

Nevertheless, Johnny was more troubled 
than he cared to own. When his father 
went away he had said, Well, John, I leave 
the family in your care; see that you prove 
equal to the trust.” Would he seem equal 
to it if everybody got to talking against 
him? He had heard his father say, “ There 
can’t be a big smoke without some fire ; ” 
and he puzzled over the matter now until 
his head ached. Finally, however, he came 
to a decision. “ I got smoked when Mr. 


246 srtie WLtfo WLon 

Bennett’s barn burned,” he said to himself; 
but I didn’t start the fire.” 

On Monday morning he went down town 
hoping that the storm had blown over; but 
he was bitterly disappointed. Mr. Simpson 
and Carl had used their time to good ad- 
vantage, so the boy met a good many un- 
friendly faces. There were also slighting 
remarks in tones just loud enough for him 
to hear as he passed. These he was too 
proud to notice, and he was also too proud 
to defend himself to those who should have 
believed in him. But it cut his upright 
nature to the quick. 

There were, however, many assurances of 
faith and indignant protests against the un- 
just suspicions; and, if he had only known, 
many more thought the friendly things they 
did not say. 

“ If Mr. Gray was back, I know they 
couldn’t fool him** he said to Maude. 


SCije WLtP 247 

“ He will be back before very long,” she 
answered hopefully. 

“You’re a great comfort to a fellow!” 
Johnny exclaimed with warm appreciation. 

At school he was made to suffer, for Carl’s 
followers had taken good care to circulate 
their story. Many, both of the boys and 
girls of the eighth grade, shunned him, or 
openly taunted. 

Clifton Bennett passed him with a tanta- 
lizing smile, for which Johnny longed to 
thrash him; while even Gladys looked at 
him with troubled coolness, until Rex took 
her to task. 

“ There isn’t a straighter fellow in 
school,” he said hotly. “ I didn’t suppose 
you were like Clifton.” 

She flushed to the roots of her hair and 
turned away resentfully. 

But Rex sprang after her in quick con- 
trition. “ That was mean in me, Gladys! ” 


248 Ettt Mos WLf^o Wion 

he cried. But you don’t know Jack Smith 
as well as I do. — Does Genevieve believe 
that yarn? ” 

Gladys turned with dignity. “ I didn’t 
say I believed it,” she replied; ‘‘ but Clif- 
ton — ” 

“ Of course Clifton hates anyone that 
likes me,” interrupted Rex. 

It was Gladys’s turn to explain. We 
girls don’t any of us believe it,” she said. 
“ But Johnny doesn’t care what we think — 
Clifton says so — and he acts that way.” 

I suppose Clifton knows all about it,” 
retorted Rex. 

“ Clifton is my brother,” flashed Gladys; 
“ and you have no right to talk about him 
to me! ” Then she caught her breath with 
a sob. “ I think a great deal of him if — if 
he doesn^t care! ” she added, and ran from 
the room before Rex could stop her. He 
waited a long time for her to come back; 


mtf} 249 
but she did not come, and he went home 
feeling very miserable. It was his first dis- 
agreement with Gladys, and he blamed 
himself greatly. 

Of course I had no right to speak as I 
did,’’ he admitted in his heart, flushing at 
the memory. “ I don’t wonder Gladys felt 
bad.” 

In her own room, Gladys cried until she 
was tired out. “ They are all down on Clif- 
ton,” she sobbed ; and he feels dreadfully 
about it — I know he does ; but he won’t 
say so.” Then the great sorrow of her sis- 
terly heart found words. “ If only Clifton 
thought as much of me as Oscar does of 
Genevieve! ” And she wept more bitterly 
than before. 

Meantime, Johnny went on his way with 
sturdy independence. He had settled the 
matter in his own mind. He suffered, but 
no one should know it. He was in the right, 


250 aos WLfto WLon 

and, if people did not believe it, the fact 
was not changed. He cared what people 
thought about him, but not to be affected 
by it as Rex had been by his trouble at 
school, for his nature was more calm. Not- 
withstanding Gladys’s opinion, he cared 
also, and cared very much, what the girls, 
as well as the boys, of the United Tribes 
thought of him; while Mr. Sherman had 
already become, to his boyish heart, the 
model of what he himself would like some- 
time to be. 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE SCARLET AND GOLD SUIT 

A MERRY party was on its way to 
the country; for it was Saturday 
again, and the White Indians were 
going to spend the day at the Brown farm. 

Rex and Oscar took the lead. The 
former, mounted upon Fleet, frisked gaily 
along; while Oscar rode a handsome little 
bay horse, a birthday gift from his father. 
Genevieve, who was fond of poetry, had 
named the animal “ Pegasus,” which name 
pleased his master; and, although he had 
no wings, the little bay could fly over the 
ground as fast as even Oscar cared to ride. 

Pedoro and Hercules were here, there 
and everywhere, keeping the children in a 


261 


252 Eftt 30S WitfO WirOn 

gale of laughter by their funny antics, and 
ably assisted by Lightning. The boy and 
pony, at the request of the Indians, wore 
their circus finery and were to assist in the 
entertainment of the day. Prince was also 
ready for fun; but he was kept in a state of 
amazement by the doings of his comrades, 
and his efforts to imitate, although good for 
a beginner, added to the merriment of the 
company, who had taken the least traveled 
road to their destination, in order not to at- 
tract too much attention. 

The mounted guard was followed by the 
pony cart drawn by Humpty Dumpty and 
carrying four of the Indians. Frank drove ; 
Florence was seated beside him; while 
Genevieve and Gladys occupied the back 
seat. 

Next came the surrey, with Uncle Will 
driving and the front of the carriage swarm- 
ing with little Indians. Tommy clamored 


Scarlet anir ©olir Suit 253 

for the reins, and Grace insisted that she 
was big enough 'to drive. Both were 
quieted, however, by promises of a pony 
ride when they reached the farm. Dorothy, 
also, rode in front; but she was too much 
occupied with watching the others to think 
of herself. On the back seat were Mrs. 
Will and Mrs. Ralph, as young as any of 
the children. 

The Pawnees had gone out to their old 
home the previous evening and were to 
meet the other tribes at the “ Pequot 
Camp,” as the Brown children called their 
home. Johnny was brave enough not to 
let his own trouble interfere with the pleas- 
ure of his friends, and, as the outing had 
been talked of for some time, he would not 
hear of a postponement on his account. 

The disagreement between Rex and 
Gladys had been of short duration; for the 
former, true to his manly nature, could not 


254 ®|ie J 3 oj? 218*J|0 WLon 

rest until he had told his cousin that he was 
ashamed of his hasty speech. “ It was all 
my fault,” he sturdily declared. “ I had no 
business to talk like that.” 

“ And I had no business to act as I did,” 
cried Gladys, in generous response. Of 
course you felt bad about Johnny — we all 
do ; and we don’t believe one word against 
him!” 

Rex was satisfied. He understood that 
soreness of her heart where Clifton was con- 
cerned had prompted her impatience; but 
he did not know that she secretly envied 
Maude because of the sympathy between 
the latter and her brother. He had his own 
trial and was endeavoring to bear it without 
flinching. 

It was a perfect day, almost as warm as 
summer; and the grass was still green 
enough to give variety to the general 
brownness of the landscape. 


Starlet anlr (ffiolir Suit 255 

When they reached the farm, they were 
met at the big gate by a welcoming band of 
Indians. On the right was King Philip, in 
war paint and feathers, mounted upon Go- 
liath; he headed a brave company of 
Pequots, also in the gayest array of their 
tribe. Rising Sun (Clara Brown) had long 
ago decided that Sweetbrier, her doll, was 
old enough to be carried in a blanket, so the 
bisque face of the papoose stared from the 
hood-like drapery on its mother’s back. 

Dark Cloud headed his little band of 
Pawnees, in which Keen Eye appeared gal- 
lantly mounted upon Sampson, both being 
decked in the best style of the Indian. For 
some weeks the sturdy chief had been pre- 
paring this surprise; he had faithfully 
trained the frisky ram, and, as the company 
came up, he put him through a few of his 
paces, to be greeted by shouts of apprecia- 
tion. 


256 WLffo Wion 

As they filed through the gate, however, 
King Philip’s pompous welcome brought 
the visitors to a sense of their own responsi- 
bility, and they quieted down until the 
Great Sachem had responded with proper 
dignity. His guttural tones and Indian 
manner called forth a storm of applause, 
and then the receiving party came in for its 
share; but the Mohawk Medicine Man 
could not rest until he had hurled a chal- 
lenge at Keen Eye. 

“ Huh!” he cried, standing up in great 
excitement. ‘‘Huh! I’ll bet he’ll throw 
you! ” 

Walter promptly started his horned steed, 
and, keeping pace with the procession, 
amidst the admiring exclamations of the 
visitors, he rode him in triumph to the 
front entrance of the house, where Mr. 
and Mrs. Brown waited to greet their 
guests. 


m'a ©oltr Suit 257 

There were so many; delightful things to 
do that it was hard to tell where to begin ; 
but Tommy soon claimed attention. He 
was getting to be a fairly good horseman, 
and his father allowed him to show off with 
Humpty Dumpty and Hercules, while the 
other Indians looked on with encouraging 
comments. 

But ponies could not long satisfy the 
aspiring Medicine Man. His spirit was 
roused, and, remembering that Sampson 
had apparently become civilized, he was 
seized with an overwhelming desire to ride 
him. 

The older people had gone in, but Dark 
Cloud and Keen Eye advised him to let 
Sampson alone; King Philip assured him 
that sheep did not always walk upon four 
feet; while Florence urged him to be a 
good boy and not tease. Tommy’s evil gen- 
ius, however, had whispered in his ear, and 


258 "Bos 21291^0 Wion 

in addition Fred had slyly dared him to 
ride the ram. 

The result was that, when the older In- 
dians were occupied elsewhere, Tommy, 
watching his opportunity, mounted the will- 
ing Sampson, and, with Fred grinning be- 
hind him, rode in triumph around to the 
front. 

It was then the fun commenced. Samp- 
son shook his head and began to dance. 
^‘Huh!” scoffed Tommy, mistaking his 
own powers and the intentions of his steed. 

You can shake your head if you want to, 
but youVe got to go.” 

Sampson did go. The other Indians 
rushed to the rescue, but too late. Around 
and around the large lawn sped the cosset, 
dodging here and there as the children 
vainly tried to stop him, and merrily shak- 
ing his feathered head at Tommy’s frantic 
yells. The latter clung to his curly wool 





(( 


y} 


SAMPSON D/D GO. 







ScatUt mXi CtoW SttU 259 

and bounced up and down like a jumping- 
jack until, in spite of their concern, the 
Indians shrieked with laughter. 

The climax came just as Mr. Vernon, at- 
tracted by the tumult, appeared upon the 
scene. Sampson had succeeded in shaking 
off his rider, and with a triumphant Baa! ” 
butted him into a clump of dry rose bushes. 
Tommy rolled out of reach, and his yells 
became defiant, while the cosset, with play- 
ful challenges, danced around the bush and 
kept him a prisoner. 

“ Huh! ” yelled Tommy, shaking his fist 
at the enemy. “ You got left that time, 
didn’t you? ” 

This was a peculiar version of the affair, 
and the group that had dashed up burst into 
wilder merriment. The Pequol Medicine 
Man doubled up with mirth. ‘‘ Huh! ” he 
yelled back at his rival, Sampson didn’t 
get left! Not much! 


260 STIfte iSoff WLt^o Wion 

But the ram, hearing his name, took it for 
a fresh challenge, and decided that a boy 
at hand is worth two in a bush; so he 
charged gleefully, and, taking the jeering 
Pequot by surprise, bowled him over before 
he had time to realize that the tables had 
turned. 

Tommy crawled to the edge of his bush. 
“Give it to him!” he yelled in delight. 
“ Give it to him, Sampson! ” 

At that moment, Pedoro bounded for- 
ward. In his scarlet and gold suit, which 
had been carefully freshened and was as 
good as new, with his short golden curls and 
fair skin, harmonizing with his dark blue 
eyes, he was prettier even than in his circus 
days. But the cosset was not there to judge 
of a boy’s Jooks. He stopped playing ball 
with Fred and shook his head at the new- 
comer. Pedoro copied his movement ex- 
actly. 


Scarlet mXt ©olir Suit 201 

Then began the most exasperating dance 
in which Sampson had ever taken part. He 
could not get at his antagonist. Back and 
forth, to right and left, around and around 
in small circles and in large, shaking his 
head, baaing and capering, pranced the 
ram; and everything he did, Pedoro did 
also. The boy had a little switch in his 
hand; this he waved as he danced, now 
and then giving the cosset a playful 
tap with it; but always, when Sampson 
made a charge, Pedoro was somewhere 
else. 

The Great Sachem stood in the door and 
led the cheers, until Sampson, suddenly 
realizing his defeat, turned and charged 
into the crowd of shouting Indians, and a 
rough and tumble frolic with Walter fin- 
ished the performance. 

“ He has grown since Will gave him to 
me,” proudly declared his master. 


262 Etft ©OS WL^o WLon 

‘‘ Huh! ” grunted Tommy. “ He’s grown 
smart/ '' 

All this time, Prince and Lightning had 
been dashing about, barking their approval 
of the fun. Tommy now summoned his old 
friend and consoled himself with a ride 
upon the back of the faithful St. Bernard. 

Now let’s have some Indian business,” 
proposed Earl, when they had quieted down 
a little and the Great Sachem had gone 
with Mr. Brown for a walk about the farm 
and an inspection of his own property, 
which lay just beyond it. 

There was eager assent from all sides. 

Theodore hasn’t seen any of it,” con- 
tinued Earl. We’ll show him where the 
camps were last summer, then come back 
through our woods and go on the war trail. 
Afterwards we can take out the ponies and 
Goliath and have a grand hunt.” 

Exclamations of pleasure greeted this ar- 


Scarlet anlr ©olir Suit 263 

rangement, and the Indians were soon in- 
specting the old camping grounds and 
eagerly discussing their plans for the long 
vacation. Oscar was enthusiastic; Pedoro 
was breathless with interest; Gladys and 
Genevieve scarcely less so ; while the Medi- 
cine Men capered about with delight at the 
memory of former adventures and the op- 
portunity for rehearsing them. 

“ Here’s the tree where I got hung and 
Prince took me down! ” yelled Tommy. 

And there’s the pasture where Brindle 
came near running over Dorothy! ” shouted 
Frank. 

“Jimm.y saved her,” announced Myrtle 
and Kathie, in a breath. 

They know it,” cried Walter. “ Frank 
and I told Pedoro.” 

They visited the scene of Frank’s gallant 
repulse of the Pawnee chief, as well as the 
place where Walter faced the bear; and, in 


264 WLon 

the course of the trip, Frank called down 
upon himself the wrath of the Medicine 
Men. 

Here’s where two Sioux warriors 
pounced upon me,” he announced. It was 
so sudden that they managed to snatch my 
medicine bag before I knew what they were 
about.” 

Fred and Tommy began to laugh tri- 
umphantly. 

“ We pulled him down and sat on him,” 
bragged Tommy; and then we took his 
medicine bag away from him, and Fred 
throwed it in the brook! ” 

“ He couldn’t catch me!” giggled Fred. 
“ I jumped on Goliath and scooted.” 

You ! ” scoffed Black Wolf. I caught 
the Sioux warrior who stole my medicine 
bag, slew him, and took his medicine bag in 
place of my own. It was the Sioux braves 
that got left, for all there were two of them.” 


ScarUt anJr efolir Sutt 205 

We didn’t! ” denied Fred and Tommy, 
in indignant chorus. And you didn’t slew 
us!” 

“ Who said anything about you? '' asked 
Black Wolf, while the other Indians 
laughed good-naturedly. 

But White Bear came to the rescue. 

The Sioux are very great warriors,” he 
said; “and those two braves were tough 
ones. I shouldn’t wonder if some of their 
tribe are lying in ambush now, waiting to 
avenge them. You know Indians never for- 
get things.” 

“ What’s ‘ avenge ’? ” asked Tommy. 

“ To pay off the other fellows,” was Rex’s 
explanation. 

“ I thought you said we wiped them off 
our map before,” objected Tommy. 

“ We did,” laughed Rex. “ But they’ve 
had time to get back again.” 

“ Oh! ” said Tommy. 


266 Hos WLon 

IVe noticed suspicious signs,” declared 
Earl, mysteriously. We must send out our 
bravest runners and be very wily in the 
march against them.” 

fVe're going! ” cried Fred. 

“ We went before! ” clamored Tommy. 

Earl silenced them by a stroke of policy. 

We haven’t any other Medicine Men 
now,” he objected; “ and we can’t get along 
without one, at least; they’re too impor- 
tant.” 

“All right!” decided Fred; and the 
Medicine Chiefs began to strut around, 
quite satisfied to remain with the company. 

The head chiefs gravely appointed their 
scouts. Black Wolf was to be sent to the 
right, Hiawatha toward the left, while 
Kwasind should valiantly guard the front 
from ambush, or sudden surprise. 

“ What are we going to do? ” asked Gene- 
vieve, quivering with eagerness. 


StatrUt an?r ©oltr Stitt 267 

“ Oh, we will all be braves, same as we 
were the other time,” answered Florence. 
“ It’s more fun.” 

‘‘ Floss ought to be a chief,” declared Rex. 

“ We don’t need any more chiefs,” 
laughed Florence. 

The White Indians explained their parts 
to the new scouts, and they entered into the 
spirit of the game with so much earnestness 
that it seemed real to all of them. Gene- 
vieve looked anxiously after her brother as 
he crept away; and Gladys sighed, wishing 
with all her loyal heart that Clifton could 
be with them. Lightning was with dif- 
ficulty restrained from following his little 
master; but the chiefs declared that he must 
not go, so Pedoro commanded him to stay 
behind with Prince and guard the others. 
The faithful creature raised his head and 
gave a howl of sorrow ; but he obeyed. 

“Wait a minute,” cried Earl, recalling 


268 m)t nos ^"^0 Wion 

the runners. “ We’ll have it a little differ- 
ent this time. ‘‘ We are on the march to 
winter quarters, and the Sioux are ready to 
swoop down on us if they get a chance. 
Dorothy and Bertha, Myrtle and Kathie 
and Grace, can be the women and maidens, 
and the other girls can be braves.” 

But we haven’t our horses, or tepees, or 
anything to move with,” objected Clara. 

Earl waved his hand toward the old 
camping grounds. Oh, they’re coming on 
behind with the squaws and children,” he 
said. They’ve got all the stuff back there.” 

Preparations were speedily completed. 
The papooses were placed in charge of the 
smaller girls, and at last the scouts were 
sent forward. 

Pedoro felt a thrill at his heart as he crept 
away. He had a vivid imagination, and, as 
he peered into the shadows on every side, he 
half expected to see a veritable redskin leap 


Scarlet anJr eoltr Suit 269 

out from behind some tree, or clump of 
underbrush; but no such thing happened. 
Instead, the forest grew more and more 
silent until he almost fancied himself lost in 
it and many miles from a human com- 
panion. 

But he never thought of fear. Instead, 
he grew absorbed in the sights and sounds 
around him, for the country was a new 
world to him. A screech owl sat in the 
door of his home far up in the trunk of a 
tall tree, the gray ruff about his eyes stand- 
ing out distinctly. He waited until the boy 
was directly beneath him, then dropped 
noiselessly out of sight. 

‘‘ I wouldn’t hurt you, old fellow,” said 
Pedoro, softly. He peered up into the tree. 

I suppose it must be hollow up there,” he 
said to himself. 

He went on again, the grass crunching a 
little beneath his feet in spite of his caution. 


270 Zfit iSos WLf^o Wion 

and a twig snapping occasionally. “ I guess 
I would have to practise a good while be- 
fore I could be a good Indian,” he told him- 
self. But he enjoyed the novelty of it and 
was much pleased with all he saw. 

Now and then a squirrel chattered at 
him; sparrows hopped around with little 
fear; a rabbit ran across his path; and the 
dry leaves rustled mysteriously, as though 
invisible creatures were stirring about 
amongst them. For a moment he fell to 
dreaming. 

A quick bark in the distance roused him, 
and he shook himself, remembering his 
errand. After that he scouted faithfully 
until at last he came out of the wood and 
found that he was beside the road which 
passed the Brown farm. He could see the 
house not far away; while at his left were 
the white buildings of Mr. Vernon’s farm, 
and, just beyond them, Mr. Smith’s com- 


Scatrlet an5 OSolJ Suit 271 

modious dwelling, with its great barn in the 
rear. 

Two men in an express wagon were com- 
ing toward him from that direction, but he 
paid no attention to them. He stood still, 
enjoying the pretty view of hill and valley, 
with the trees stretching their somber 
branches to the sunlight, and the winding 
stream in the distance, still free to run its 
merry course. 

Suddenly remembering his red suit, 
Pedoro turned to go back into the wood; 
but one of the men called to him, and he 
waited until they came up. 

“Want to ride?’’ asked the man, in a 
friendly voice. 

“ No, thank you,” replied Pedoro. 

“Where do you live?” the other man 
questioned. 

The boy told him. 

“ You’re quite a ways from home,” com- 


272 JSOS 2I2%||0 WLon 

mented the man. “ Better get in and ride 
back with us.’’ 

Pedoro felt a sudden fear at his heart. 
He did not like the appearance of the men. 

I don’t want to go back now,” he said. 
“ But I thank you for asking me.” 

Then, before he realized what they in- 
tended to do, the man who had first spoken 
sprang out of the wagon and caught him in 
strong arms. “ You’re the circus boy that 
ran away,” said he. “ I saw you in the show, 
and I’d know that suit anywhere. We’re 
not going to hurt you, little chap; but 
there’s a thousand dollars reward offered 
for you, and we might as well get it as any- 
one.” 

Pedoro could neither speak nor struggle. 
He felt stunned. His head seemed to be 
whirling, and everything danced before his 
eyes. He wondered if he were turning to 
stone. The circus people meant to claim 


anH ©olH Suit 273 

him after all I I hey would manage, in some 
way, to keep him and not let his friends 
know where he was. If he could only make 
some one hearl 

By this time they were driving down the 
road at a rapid pace, and he was held so 
tightly between the two men that he could 
scarcely move. Suddenly he thought of 
Lightning and gave a shrill whistle. One 
of the men clapped a hand over his mouth 
and commanded him to be quiet. If only 
his powerful friend had been with him! A 
sickening regret surged through his heart, 
and tears blinded his eyes. It was worse 
than it would have been to stay in the circus 
right along. He had been so happy! He 
would almost rather die than go back. 

He heard something tearing through the 
woods, and at the same instant a command- 
ing voice called to the men. They pulled 
up obediently beside the road, and, as their 


274 j3oj? SiJaJio WLon 

grip relaxed, Pedoro freed himself with all 
the force of his strong little muscles, sprang 
like a cat, and landed on the ground beside 
his adopted father; while Lightning 
bounded over the fence and commenced to 
leap upon him with joyful barks. 

“What does this mean?” asked Mr. 
Vernon, in a tone of authority. “ Are you 
aware that you were attempting to carry off 
my son? ” 

The men knew Mr. Vernon for a lawyer 
of influence. They began to apologize. 
They had seen the offer of reward when 
Pedoro first escaped, and had not learned 
that it was withdrawn almost immedi- 
ately, because the little circus boy had 
found friends and a home and lawful 
name. 

“ I would advise you to read the papers,” 
said Mr. Vernon, in stern rebuke. His hand 
was upon Pedoro’s shoulder. “ This boy 


Scarlet anlr ffiollr Suit 275 

will be protected. I am not sure but I ought 
to make an example of you.” 

But Pedoro spoke gently. His heart was 
too full of rejoicing for any thought of ven- 
geance. “ Please let them go, father,” he 
pleaded. “ They didn’t understand, and I 
suppose I do look like a circus boy in this 
suit, if my hair and face are different.” 

So the men were allowed to drive on, 
crestfallen, but glad to escape so easily; 
while Theodore Stone Vernon walked back 
beside his adopted father to meet the White 
Indians and listen to their indignant ex- 
clamations when they heard the story. 

“ Lightning heard your whistle and 
rushed off like a cyclone,” said Rex. 

“ He would have torn them in pieces if 
they hadn’t let you go,” cried Earl. 

“ I’m glad he didn’t hurt anyone,” said 
Pedoro. 

For the remainder of the day. Lightning 


276 ®:j|e Hos WL^o WLon 

was his close companion, and, in the excite- 
ment of the Indian hunt which followed, his 
fright was almost forgotten. But that occa- 
sion saw the last of the scarlet and gold suit; 
while the name “ Pedoro ” was laid aside 
with it, to the secret delight of the former 
circus boy, who was glad to part with both 
the costume and the title which marked an 
unhappy period of his life. 


CHAPTER XIV 


BRIGHT PROSPECTS FOR JOHNNY 

T here were no new developments 
at Burke. Rex’s progress, to- 
gether with the fact that he was 
liked better and better by both teachers and 
pupils, and that Professor White evidently 
trusted and esteemed him, rankled more 
and more deeply in Clifton’s heart. 

The love and gratitude that his father 
now bestowed upon the boy whom he chose 
to look upon as his rival, Gladys’s affection 
for him, and his mother’s increasing regard, 
were added sources of jealousy; and his 
cousin’s generous conduct with regard to the 
money roused only resentment that even in 

such matters the newcomer should be fore- 
277 


278 Wion 

most. Clifton’s jealous hatred colored 
everything in his life and threatened to 
warp his nature beyond recovery. His 
father and mother reasoned with him in 
vain, while his sister’s efforts in behalf 
of Rex seemed only to make matters 
worse. 

That Rex and the other White Indians 
fully believed in Johnny, and were loud in 
blame of Carl, was enough to make Clifton 
take his part; although, being naturally 
truthful himself, even if he was many times 
mistaken and therefore unjust, he really 
never doubted the story which Carl told 
him with such apparent sincerity. The fact 
that he could doubt Johnny and believe him 
capable of such treachery, was proof of the 
hold which this bad influence had gained 
upon him, and the United Tribes were so 
indignant that, but for Gladys, they would 
have formally expelled the unruly brave. 


JStifllit 19 ro 3 )iectf$ tov S^otinns 279 

As it was, he never appeared in the council 
lodge, but stubbornly sulked at school and 
at home. 

Carl had not returned to the engine. He 
was too cowardly to try again after his 
fright, and gave his lame side as an excuse; 
but, fearful that his deceit would be dis- 
covered and therefore sinking into deeper 
sin in order to conceal it, he lost no oppor- 
tunity to speak against Johnny. 

One evening the latter was obliged to go 
on an errand to the edge of the city, some- 
what beyond the “ haunted house.’’ When 
he started to return, he walked slowly, lost 
in thought. He seemed bound hand and 
foot and forced to keep quiet while events 
were shaped for him. This was foreign to 
his nature, and he chafed under it. He 
wanted to be doing something to clear him- 
self, and he carefully reviewed the affair 
from the beginning, as he had done many 


280 3309 WLiio WLon 

times before. But he reached the same con- 
clusion. 

I don’t see how I could have done any- 
thing different,” he told himself. I didn’t 
think of the man’s being crazy until just the 
last minute, before Carl jumped; and there 
wasn’t time then to hunt up help.” 

He plunged his hands into his pockets 
and walked on, following the dim outline 
of the walk with gloomy eyes, but paying 
no heed to anything around him. There 
was a low rumble of thunder, and frequent 
flashes of lightning served to emphasize the 
darkness. 

As he was passing the thickest portion of 
the forest, a number of dark forms sprang 
up around him, and he was seized by many 
hands; while the lightning flashes revealed 
masked faces close to his own. 

The attack was so sudden that he had no 
chance to put into practice any of the arts 


HviQijt fox 3 of^nns 281 

of self-defense in which he had been drilled 
by the engineer, even if they would have 
availed against both superior size and num- 
bers; so he soon gave up struggling, but 
kept his wits about him. 

It had flashed through his mind that Carl 
and some of his followers were trying to 
frighten him, for purposes of their own, 
which he did not know; so he decided that 
he was in no great danger, although even 
his strong nerves were shaken. 

‘‘ What do you fellows want? ’’ he asked, 
in as careless a tone as he could command. 

‘‘He’s a cool one!” muttered a muffled 
voice, and Johnny was almost sure that one 
of the party stifled a laugh. 

“ Yes, I’ll tell you what we want of you,” 
answered another voice, which Johnny 
thought he recognized in spite of the at- 
tempt at disguising it. “We have a little 
paper here that we want you to sign.” 


282 WLon 

Johnny began to understand. “Well, 
Fm in fine shape to sign it! ” he scoffed. 

“ Oh, we’ll fix that up all right,” said the 
leader. 

“ What am I to sign? ” 

“ A statement saying that you knocked 
Carl Simpson off the engine.” 

“ Is that all?” 

“Yes!” came the eager response. 

“ Well, suppose I don’t choose to sign 
it?” 

“ We’ll make you.” 

“ How?” 

There was a moment of disconcerted si- 
lence, then the leader answered in a gruff 
tone, at the same time tightening his grip 
upon Johnny. “You’ll find out soon 
enough,” he threatened. “Come! Will 
you sign the paper without any more fuss? ” 

“I rather guess not!” was Johnny’s re- 
ply. 


fov 283 

Evidently they had not expected so de- 
cided an answer. The leader muttered 
something under his breath, and there was 
another pause. 

“See here!’’ he said presently, empha- 
sizing his words with a shake. “ Do you 
want to go home to-night? ” In his excite- 
ment, he partly forgot his disguise. 

“Say!” cried Johnny, suddenly. 
“ You’re carrying it too far, Simpson.” 

There was a movement of consternation ; 
then another angry shake in which all the 
captors joined. 

“ Come, don’t try to beat around the 
bush! ” cried the leader, this time carefully 
changing his voice; but the prisoner was 
not deceived. 

“ It’s risky business,” he warned ; “ and 
I’d advise you to give up the job.” 

“Take your advice where it’s wanted,” 
was the retort, 


284 2riie Hos WL^o WLon 

‘‘All right, Simpson,” said Johnny. 
“ Let go of me, and I will.” 

The grip tightened. 

“Let up on that Simpson racket!” 
growled the leader. “ You’ve made enough 
trouble for him.” 

“Come, do the fair thing!” urged an- 
other muffled voice. “ Then we will let 
you go.” 

“ I’m ready enough to do the fair thing,” 
said Johnny; “but I don’t propose to lie 
just for the sake of clearing a sneak and 
making myself appear one.” 

They shook him again roughly. 

“Say, will you sign this paper?” de- 
manded the leader, wrathfully. 

“ No, I won’t.” 

“ Up with him! ” 

Johnny was lifted in the arms of his cap- 
tors and borne in the direction of the 
“ haunted house.” 


Hvifsfft for Slofinnfi 285 

“Help! Help!^'‘ he suddenly shouted; 
but the spot was a lonely one, and his heart 
sank. He did not care to spend a night in 
the gloomy place; besides, he knew that it 
would greatly worry his family if he did 
not return in good season. 

His cry brought forth a derisive laugh, 
but he repeated it loudly as he was borne 
along. In response, there was a quick bark 
and the rush of a large body close at hand. 
His heart gave a leap as he recognized the 
huge form of the circus hound, and he 
called to him eagerly: “ Here, Lightning! 
Take ’em, sir! ” 

The great creature dashed forward with 
savage zeal, and Johnny’s captors dropped 
him with exclamations of terror, scattering 
for the nearest trees; while Johnny, who 
had struck on his feet like a cat, spoke 
quietly to the dog, and stood still, laughing 
to himself and patting his powerful friend. 


286 STlie Mop Wil^o Wion 

“Call off your beast!” yelled a fright- 
ened voice that had lost all pretense of dis- 
guise. “This tree’s too small! He’ll pull 
me down! ” 

“ All right, Simpson! ” answered Johnny. 
“ I’ll give you time to find a larger one. 
Here, Lightning, wait a minute! — But 
hurry up before I send him back.” 

There was no doubt that he was obeyed, 
for he heard the dry twigs snap under flying 
feet, and another flash of light disclosed a 
dark form swinging into the branches of an 
immense oak. 

“Watch them. Lightning!” he com- 
manded in a loud voice. But the next 
moment he stooped to caress the great 
head and whisper, “ Come on, boy — care- 
ful/ " 

The intelligent creature understood him 
and, true to his training, obeyed promptly. 
They stepped off the walk and went on 


JItrosiimsi tot 3ioJ|nni? 287 

noiselessly. Johnny hoped to be able to 
keep the boys there until they should be 
sufficiently punished, but he would not 
leave the dog for fear some harm might 
come to him. 

Johnny was a great lover of animals, and 
Lightning trotted along contentedly by his 
side, lifting his head now and then for the 
friendly pats that were sure to be bestowed 
upon it. 

“ Did your master send you to look after 
me? ” asked the boy, feeling sure that such 
was the case ; for Pedoro had known where 
he was going, and the hound could easily 
have tracked him, and was quite equal to 
the duty required. 

The dog wagged an understanding tail in 
answer, and Johnny caressed him enthusi- 
astically. You’re the right stuff!” he 
cried. “ You and your master are both 
great medicine! ” 


288 Slje 330 S smifto Wion 

In a flash of light he saw the eyes of the 
splendid animal looking into his own, and 
burst out in another tribute: ^‘You’ve got 
a soul! Of course you have! ” 

The White Indians were furious when 
they heard of the affair, and immediately 
held a council of war. 

“ Do you suppose Cliff was in it? ” asked 
Earl. Gladys was not present, so they could 
discuss the matter freely. 

I don’t believe he was,” cried Rex. 

No,” answered Johnny; Cliff Bennett 
was not with that crowd.” 

Are you sure? ” asked Frank. 

Certain,” replied Johnny, with deci- 
sion. 

Bennett has a big enough score against 
him without that,” said Oscar. 

“ Simpson gave himself dead away,” de- 
clared Johnny. ‘‘So did Cal Peters; but 
I couldn’t make the others out.” 


HviQfft fov 3ottnns 289 

“ Cal and Carl are a team,” said 
Earl. “ One is as big a coward as the 
other.” 

Johnny burst out laughing. “ You ought 
to have heard them yell! ” he cried. And 
run — say, didn’t they sprint! I believe 
Lightning saw the joke.” 

“ Of course he did,” said Theodore, with 
conviction. 

A storm of praise followed, in which the 
hound and his master shared about equally, 
and during which Prince looked on with 
earnest and somewhat jealous eyes. The 
dogs had become great friends and play- 
fellows, but the St. Bernard sometimes ques- 
tioned the newcomer’s right to the caresses 
of the original White Indians. This time, 
however, it was soon settled, for the girls 
swooped down upon him in sympathetic 
affection until no Prince could be seen, ex- 
cept a joyful tail; and Tommy completed 


290 ©Off 2WJ)o Wion 

his bliss by mounting upon his back and 
riding in triumph around the lodge. 

But the United Tribes could do little, 
after all, to help Johnny out of his trouble, 
and the days went by unhappily for him 
until more than two weeks had passed since 
the morning of his exciting trip to Burford. 

Outwardly everything had quieted down 
to its former condition, although the eighth 
grade was still divided in its sympathies, 
and Johnny was made to feel the difference 
that existed; but other interests had come 
to the front, and there were no more out- 
breaks. Confident that Professor White 
and the other teachers believed in him, as 
well as the pupils for whose opinion he 
really cared, the boy tried to think that he 
did not mind the evil reports ; but the strain 
told upon him, all the more because his 
mother looked care-worn, and Maude was 
unnaturally quiet, while once or twice he 


fov 3Jol^nn8 291 

found Bertha crying over something that 
she would not explain, and Walter pre- 
ferred to stay at home rather than play with 
other boys of his age. 

On this morning, however, they had 
scarcely finished breakfast when Rex came 
in, eager and breathless. 

Have you heard the news? ” he cried. 

“What news?” asked Maude and 
Johnny, in a breath. 

“ Mr. Gray is back, and he saw Carl 
jump.” 

“Mr. Gray — Carl!” Johnny repeated 
in a bewildered way. 

“ Yes,” cried Rex, triumphantly. “ Mr. 
Gray is just back from Ohio. He took the 
limited from Burford that morning and 
passed you just as Carl jumped. He noticed 
that the engineer was slowing down and 
thought maybe they had a hot box and had 
to stop; then, when Carl jumped, he 


292 Efit Wion 

thought he did it just to be smart. Of 
course they went by so quick there wasn’t 
time to see much, and he supposed every- 
thing was all right; but he’s been worrying 
about the engine all the time. He didn’t 
notice you at all.” 

Johnny had grown white with feeling 
and did not speak for a moment, while a 
relieved look came into Maude’s face, and 
her mother smiled tremulously. Bertha 
was half laughing and half crying, and 
Walter held up his head in a way that ex- 
pressed a great deal. 

“Tell us about it,” said Johnny at last. 
“ Did Mr. Gray hear that stuff about me? ” 

“ Of course,” answered Rex. “ Though 
he didn’t know anything about it till he got 
in this morning; then one of the first men 
he saw was the engineer that’s been taking 
his place — you know he has always stood 
up strong for you — and he told the whole 


for 3 JoJtinn» 293 

story then and there, right on the station 
platform. I tell you Mr. Gray was mad — 
I never saw him look like that before. He 
fairly stormed up and down that platform 
and said he’d like to know what people 
were thinking of to let a thing like that go 
on after knowing your father for twenty 
years. He said didn’t character count for 
anything, that they should believe the first 
bad thing they ever heard about you — even 
when they had your word it wasn’t true, too, 
and such a mean trick as that; and to side 
with some one who had been here only a 
year or two — oh, he was raging! 

“ He had a crowd round him pretty 
quick; and after a while he cooled down a 
little and told how he saw Carl jump — 
just as I have told you — and what he 
thought about it, and then he went off again. 
It seemed as though we had half the town 
there before he was through. And what do 


294 2rt|f WL'^o WlrOn 

you think? — He found out about Carl’s 
age — went to his old home on purpose — 
he mistrusted all the time. I wish Carl had 
been there to hear itl ” 

There was another ring at the door bell, 
and Oscar Sherman was ushered in. His 
face was sparkling, and he could hardly sit 
down before telling his good news. “ You 
can’t guess what’s happened! ” he cried. 

They thought he had heard of Mr. Gray’s 
return, but Oscar shook his head. “ I didn’t 
know that,” he said ; “ but father came home 
this morning, and what do you think he 
says?” 

“ What? ” asked Johnny, breathlessly. 

“ He saw you climb over the tank and hit 
the engineer,” cried Oscar, in triumph. 

He did! ” The exclamation was a cho- 
rus of delight. 

“Yes. Soon after you left him he 
thought he would just step up in front and 


for 3 oJinn» 295 

watch things a little. It seems he didn’t 
like that engineer’s looks, either; and still 
he didn’t think of any danger — just con- 
cluded to take a look at him, and got there 
just in time to see you throw off your coat 
and start over the tank. He rushed along 
and took your old place on the tricycle and 
watched you until he saw you would get 
the train to the station all right; and then 
he went back and said nothing — he’s a 
keen one. 

‘‘The baggage-man thought he was just 
looking around, I guess ; anyway, he didn’t 
mistrust anything. Father had a notion to 
keep still for a while, and nobody dreamed 
that he knew all about it. Of course he 
didn’t see Carl jump, but he believed you 
all the same.” 

“ Mr. Gray’s story proves the rest of it! ” 
cried Rex, and he repeated it again for 
Oscar’s benefit. 


296 Eiit Hos WLon 

“You’re a hero now, all right!” cried 
Oscar. “ You can’t escape.” 

The boy’s words proved true. When 
Johnny went down town, he was stopped 
many times for handshakes and congratula- 
tions and got into several crowds from 
which he found it difficult to get away. 
But the kind words meant more from those 
who had stood by him all along; although 
he was human enough to be glad that the 
others were convinced, and that even the 
roughest were forced to believe him. He 
paid little attention to the latter, however, 
some of whom were anxious to make up, 
while others bore their defeat ill-naturedly. 
The crew of the Burford express, whom he 
saw at the station, were loud in their demon- 
strations of delight; but Carl Simpson had 
disappeared as soon as possible after hear- 
ing of the exposure, and had not been seen 


since. 


for 3 ot^nns 297 

It came out afterward that he had sent in 
his resignation at once, knowing that he 
would be discharged; and it was also 
learned that Mr. Simpson had not been in 
his son’s confidence — that Carl, after hav- 
ing started the bold story, was frightened at 
what he had done, and did not dare tell his 
father. He had persuaded a few of his in- 
timates to make the attack upon Johnny in 
the hope of frightening the other into si- 
lence, as well as signing a written statement 
which should prove himself the guilty 
party; but, having failed in this attempt 
and remained for an hour or so in the 
branches of a tree with the expectation of 
arrest, he was glad to let Johnny alone and 
to escape with no more severe punishment. 

Mr. Gray and his young friend had a 
long talk. The engineer had stormed him- 
self into partial quiet, and broke out only 
occasionally in his discussion of the subject. 


298 Efit Hos Z12%)|0 WLon 

But he was pleased to have helped in the 
vindication of his favorite. 

That afternoon Mr. Sherman called on 
his way home from his office. He was a 
man of few words, but he made them feel 
his appreciation of what Johnny had 
done. 

I have been thinking,” he said, turning 
to the boy, “ that when you are ready for it, 
if you should change your mind about going 
on the road — and you know the best of us 
are subject to change of tastes as we grow 
older — I might find you something to do 
in my office. It is a good place to work up 
from,” he added, smiling on them all. ‘‘ I 
started in that way myself.” 

Mrs. Smith was greatly pleased. “ I 
should be very glad if he changed his 
mind,” she said. 

The railroad president looked at Johnny 
with serious kindness. The position of an 


fov 3>oi)nnj? 299 

engineer is a most honorable and respon- 
sible one,” he said ; “ but you might not care 
to give your life to it. It is not always pos- 
sible to decide so early just what will hold 
one. I am free to say, however, that I can 
use such material as you are made of, either 
in the office, or on the road.” 

After he had gone, Johnny was thought- 
ful for some time; but Maude was unusu- 
ally eager. 

“ Behold the future railroad president!” 
she said, making him a sweeping courtesy. 

They all laughed, for merriment came 
very easily now. 

“ Don’t expect too much of me,” said 
Johnny; even if I have found a good 
friend.” 

“No,” his mother replied; “we won’t 
build too much on the friendship, although 
I think Mr. Sherman is a man upon whom 
one may depend. But, after everything is 


300 srjie iiios WLon 

said, it rests mainly with yourself to make 
your life much or little.” 

“ It shan’t be little,” said Johnny, with 
great earnestness. 


CHAPTER XV 


A BARN PARTY 

A fter a stormy scene at home, and, 
on the street, a taste of the treat- 
ment which he had called down 
upon Johnny, Carl Simpson had left town. 
It was reported that his father had sent him 
away to a very strict military school; but 
few of his companions knew where he had 
gone. Those who had flattered him most 
were now most ready to condemn, and 
Johnny’s victory was complete. 

The effect of all this upon Clifton was re- 
markable. He was amazed at Carl’s false- 
ness and cruelty, and he suddenly saw his 
own conduct in a plainer light. The shock 
was great; but pride still ruled him, and he 
would not give in. 


301 


302 m)t 3Jo2 212*1^0 Wion 

The memory of Professor White’s 
changed manner toward him, of the cold- 
ness that he knew meant a just contempt, 
tortured him; and he longed passionately 
for his renewed confidence and esteem. He 
longed, too, for the friendship of the White 
Indians, for the approval of his father, the 
unquestioning faith of his mother, for his 
sister’s tender pride and affection. But, 
with all his loneliness, he would have died 
rather than confess himself in the wrong 
and admit that his rival had conquered 
again. 

What right had Rex to be first in every- 
thing? Before he came, Clifton had been 
the acknowledged leader. When Florence 
tossed her curls and turned her face the 
other way, he was in a white fury. He told 
himself that he hated girls; that he didn’t 
care what anyone thought of him. But all 
the time he knew better. His school work 


a llarts 303 

suffered more and more, and the teachers 
left him pretty much to himself. 

Professor White had received an anony- 
mous payment of money to repair the dam- 
age done when the school building was 
entered to take out the skeleton, and, in a 
few scathing words, he had reported the 
matter to the eighth grade. They knew it 
came from the culprit, but that was all. Yet 
no one doubted the principal’s knowledge 
of the whole affair. They wondered how 
long he would wait for the repentance of the 
guilty one, and there was much specula- 
tion about it. Many suspected Carl 
and believed that he had been expelled 
for his conduct, but no one felt sure 
of it. 

The White Indians celebrated Johnny’s 
victory by a barn party at The Maples. It 
was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and the 
great doors were open to flood the spacious 


304 Etft ISOS WL'^o WLon 

floor of the carriage room with light and 
warmth. 

The room had been cleared for the occa- 
sion and decorated with bright blankets, 
many pieces of bead work, bunches of 
feathers, the totems of the different tribes, 
a large collection of medicine bags, bows 
and arrows, shields, tomahawks, and other 
articles of interest. At the farther end were 
chairs for the invited guests, and the In- 
dians, in full costume, received their visit- 
ors with the dignity for which their race is 
noted; although it must be admitted that 
the Medicine Men did a great deal of hop- 
ping about and offered to cure nearly every 
red man who entered. 

The White Indians, with the help of the 
Great Sachem, had prepared a number of 
scenes to represent the life of the Indian in 
peace and war, and several historical events 
were included; while the fierce Pawnees 


a 33atrn JIarts 305 

had consented to become) white people again 
for that afternoon. 

“ It isn’t everybody that can turn from a 
red man to a white one just when he wants 
to,” observed Johnny. 

“ And it isn’t everybody that would want 
to, just to let the Indians attack them,” 
laughed Maude. 

You people are all rightl” commented 
Rex. 

Everything was performed in panto- 
mime, and the cheers of the audience en- 
couraged the young actors to their best ef- 
fort. 

First on the program was a group of sav- 
ages watching the approach of Columbus 
and his fleet. The Mohawks and Pequots 
all took part in this scene, and expressed the 
greatest interest in their faces and gestures, 
as they looked with eager surprise into im- 
aginary distance to watch the advance of 


306 Jioff WL'^o WLon 

the caravels. Tommy, however, could not 
keep from giggling, and Fred nudged him 
so energetically that he tipped him over; 
whereupon a fight between the Medicine 
Men seemed imminent. But White Bear 
saved the situation by bundling the squirm- 
ing little savages under a blanket and sitting 
on them, while Rising Sun tiptoed grace- 
fully forward, shading her eyes with one 
hand as she peered anxiously out of the 
side door, where the ocean was supposed to 
be. Then the smothered howls of the Med- 
icine Men burst forth, and they were rolled 
behind a screen, where their mouths were 
stuffed with chocolate creams, and order 
was restored. 

After the continued applause had died 
down, Johnny Smith, as Captain John 
Smith, was seen in the act of making his 
famous treaty with Powhatan. White Bear 
took the part of the haughty chieftain and 


a iSarn JPartff 307 

the boys did their parts remarkably well, 
being cheered to the echo. 

This was followed by the rescue of Cap- 
tain John Smith. 

“ We didn’t play it right last summer,” 
Florence had declared when they talked 
over the program. “ Now we’re going to 
do just as it really was.” 

‘‘ She hasn’t got over our laughing at her 
when she was Pocahontas last summer,” 
said Frank, slyly. But Florence disdained 
his remark. 

The scene was given with really fine ef- 
fect. Rex was again the proud Powhatan 
and acted his part to the life; while Poca- 
hontas, who had practised hers secretly in 
her room, surprised even the White Indians 
by the natural manner in which she ren- 
dered it. 

At the moment when Captain Smith was 
compelled to lay his head upon the stone 


308 ©Off mon 

and Black Wolf raised his club to strike, 
she rushed forward and threw herself upon 
her knees before the victim, turning to Pow- 
hatan with her clasped hands raised in 
pleading and her eyes glistening with real 
tears. Powhatan raised his daughter gently 
and motioned Black Wolf to lower his club. 
Captain Smith was released, and Pocahon- 
tas thanked her father with a glowing 
look. 

Even after it was ended, there was perfect 
silence for a moment; then the cheers burst 
forth in a storm of approval, which was 
long-continued. 

“ They didn’t laugh this time,” whispered 
Dorothy, as her sister passed her with a rosy 
face. 

“ The Landing of the Pilgrims ” brought 
out the Smith children in the colonial dress 
which they had worn the summer before as 
white people. They had added some old- 


^ JSatn 309 

fashioned cloaks that had been handed 
down in the family, and stepped from the 
small boat which was supposed to be behind 
the blanket, to look around anxiously; fear- 
ful, yet thankful to find themselves upon 
dry land once more after their long and 
perilous voyage. 

Maude clasped her hands and raised her 
eyes fervently; Bertha knelt upon the imag- 
inary rock; Walter looked carefully to the 
condition of his gun; while Johnny strode 
about, shading his eyes with one hand and 
searching the distance on every side with a 
determined look. 

Next there was a scouting party, stealing 
cautiously through the woods and covering 
their trail by every art known to the red 
man. This was followed by a battle be- 
tween two tribes; the surprise of a white 
village and capture of some of the inhab- 
itants; the smoking of the peace pipe; and 


310 iffoff 212#J|0 WLon 

finally the performance of the Medicine 
Chiefs in the cure of a sick brave. 

Fred and Tommy were unexpectedly shy 
in the beginning of their act, but soon en- 
tered into the spirit of it, and found it im- 
possible to finish without a wild yell and 
one of their old-time battles. This, how- 
ever, was cut short by their interest in an- 
other scene that was immediately started. 

Black Wolf, Keen Eye and Big Eagle 
proved their skill in shooting arrows at a 
target, and each distinguished himself. 
Frank was obliged to look to his laurels, 
and there was a tie between Walter and 
Jimmy. The young braves retired in the 
midst of hearty applause. 

“ King Philip exciting the Indians to 
War,” with Earl as the leading character, 
was so real that some of the visiting Indians 
crouched down in their seats, almost expect- 
ing to hear challenging war whoops, and to 


^ iSuvn 311 

find themselves surrounded by savage 
foes. 

The attack by Indians upon a party of 
colonists, while on their way to church, was 
also thrilling. Johnny appeared from a side 
door, mounted upon Humpty Dumpty, with 
Maude seated on a cushion — or pillion — 
behind him. She carried a life-like doll on 
her lap, while little Grace rode in front 
with Johnny and smiled delightedly at her 
importance. 

Behind Humpty Dumpty walked Fleet, 
with Walter upon his back and Bertha be- 
hind him upon her pillion. She also car- 
ried a large doll to represent a child. 

Theodore, dressed as a colonist and rid- 
ing Hercules, brought up the rear; while 
behind him was Dorothy, who had become 
a white woman for the occasion. Two more 
children — represented by dolls — com- 
pleted this last family. 


312 Hos Wion 

They rode quietly around the open space, 
all, with the exception of Midget and the 
dolls, very solemn and earnest. The men 
held their guns in readiness and kept a 
watchful eye upon their surroundings; and 
suddenly, in the midst of the stillness, a band 
of Indians in war paint and feathers, with 
bows and arrows ready to shoot and toma- 
hawks raised to throw, dashed upon them, 
and there was a quick battle. 

This surprise was too much for the Medi- 
cine Men. Tommy fell into momentary 
terror and jumped up, commencing to 
howl; while Fred also sprang to his feet, 
prepared to flee. The latter, however, soon 
recovered his courage and pulled his rival 
down beside him with such energy that 
Tommy rolled over twice before he could 
stop, and brought up directly under the feet 
of Hercules. 

The circus pony took this as a part of the 


^ Jiuvn Partj? 313 

game, and, reaching down a friendly nose, 
tumbled the yelling Medicine Man out of 
his way and went on undisturbed. 

“ You couldn’t get him to hurt anyone,” 
observed Theodore, gravely, as the howling 
young Indian was picked up. 

When order was again restored, and the 
actors had retired amidst tumultuous cheer- 
ing, Genevieve and Dorothy delighted their 
audience with a pretty Indian song, which 
they were obliged to sing a second time be- 
fore the listeners would let them go. 

After this Oscar appeared as Hiawatha, 
walking through the forest in deep thought. 
His face was sad and stern, and he raised 
his eyes toward the roof once or twice as 
though for inspiration, then walked on 
again with folded arms. At last, however, 
he paused, opened the pouch at his side, and 
took from it some rude painting materials. 
His face brightened, and he went about ap- 


314 STiit Jioj? WLon 

parently painting wonderful pictures upon 
the bark of trees. 

Finally, he beckoned to his people; and 
when they gathered around him he showed 
them the pictures, explained their meaning, 
and taught them how to express themselves 
by symbols. It was a pretty scene. Oscar 
did his part well, and the other Indians 
flocked about him, evidently listening with 
interest and accepting his teaching with 
wonder and gratitude. 

Tommy, however, had recovered from 
his fright and struck the usual laughable 
note. He stole up behind Oscar, peered 
under his arm as he was pointing, then gave 
a disdainful grunt. “ Ain’t any pictures! ” 
he announced. Ain’t got any paints, 
either!” 

The disgust in his face was more comical 
than his words; for Tommy, although 
much swayed by his own imagination, could 


M iffarn ^avt^ 315 

never quite bring himself to allow others the 
same latitude. But the laughter did not 
prevent a tumult of appreciative hand-clap- 
ping and other signs of approval; so Oscar 
had no cause for complaint at the reception 
of his effort. 

Another pretty scene represented Mine- 
haha in the lodge of her father, the arrow- 
maker. Earl took the part of the latter, 
bending over his arrows with a serious face; 
while beside him, very sweet in her Indian 
dress, sat Gladys, plaiting corn husks instead 
of flags and rushes,” since it was too late 
for the latter. 

The entertainment ended with an Indian 
song without words, in which all joined; 
and, when the older people had gone, after 
many expressions of appreciation, as well as 
kind words to Dark Cloud, who was the 
guest of honor, the rafters rang with merri- 


ment. 


316 nos S2at)o WLon 

In the home of the Great Sachem, the 
families of the White Indians, who had 
been the only adults present, partook of 
their refreshments; but the Indian feast 
was served from picnic baskets, “Just as 
though it was summer! ” as Genevieve glee- 
fully remarked. 

Clifton stayed miserably in his room until 
all was over. But, when he passed The 
Maples some time after the last guest had 
gone, he met Florence running over to see 
Genevieve and flushed hotly at her cool 
little nod and disdainful toss of curls. For, 
in spite of everything, Clifton had been in- 
vited. 

“ I think he’s just the hatefulest boy I 
know, don’t you, Florence?” cried Gene- 
vieve, who had been watching from the win- 
dow. 

Florence looked after him with a puzzled 
frown. “ I don’t know,” she answered 


M 3 Ba^rn 317 

slowly. “ He can be very nice when he 
tries.” 

Clifton, however, never dreamt of any- 
thing but criticism. “ Let them talk about 
me if they want to,” he said to himself, from 
a heart hot with anger. “ Florence is like 
all the rest — she thinks I don’t amount to 
anything because that conceited fellow hap- 
pened to beat me. They can have their silly 
barn parties for all I care. I’d rather 
read any time.” He dashed on blindly 
and almost ran against Rex before he saw 
him. 

The latter stepped aside without a word. 
He had no desire to quarrel with his cousin, 
but his manly dignity increased Clifton’s 
anger. 

Straight on the boy walked — where, he 
neither noticed nor cared. He knew that 
under other circumstances he would have 
enjoyed the afternoon as much as any of the 


318 ®:jie JSoff WLffo Wion 

Indians. He delighted in acting; his was a 
social nature; and, with all his scornful 
denials, he was well aware that there was 
bitter disappointment in his heart; for Clif- 
ton’s mind was logical, in spite of his pas- 
sionate inconsistency. 

At the corner, Rex found Gladys, looking 
after her brother with anxious eyes. “ I’m 
so sorry for Clifton,” she said, wistfully. 
“ He pretends he doesn’t care, but I know 
he’s just as unhappy as he can be.” 

“ I’m sorry, too,” said Rex; “ but I can’t 
do anything, except let him alone. He hates 
me, anyway.” 

“ I don’t think he does,” said Gladys, in 
a tone of conviction. 

Rex stared at her. ‘‘ You don’t think he 
does! ” he repeated. 

“No,” said Gladys; “I think he likes 
you.” 

Rex looked astounded. “ He has a queer 


^ iliarn 319 

way of showing it,” he said, after a speech- 
less moment. 

Gladys smiled faintly. ^^Yes,” she ad- 
mitted. “ But he doesn’t know it himself 
yet.” 

Rex commenced to laugh, and, after an 
instant’s hesitation, Gladys joined him, al- 
though in a troubled manner. 

I guess you’re mistaken,” said Rex, 
checking his half-hearted merriment. 

Gladys shook her head positively. 
“You’ll see!” she rejoined. 

They walked back together. 

Suddenly Gladys turned, her face dimp- 
ling with pleasure. “Oh, I forgot!” she 
cried. “ I’ve got some lovely news.” 

“ What is it? ” asked Rex, catching her 
eagerness. 

“ Papa’s mining stock is good, after all. 
Isn’t that beautiful? ** 

“ It’s great! ** said Rex, heartily. 


CHAPTER XVI 


THE COURAGE OF WHITE BEAR 

S OUTH of Thornton, and about half 
a mile from the Burke school, flowed 
a pretty stream, called Clear River 
because of the transparency of its water. It 
was a continuation of the brook which ran 
through the Smith, Vernon and Brown 
farms, and which had been named the 
“ Mohawk River ” to suit the fancy of the 
White Indians the previous summer. 

Fed by several other streamlets, by the 
time it reached Thornton this river had at- 
tained considerable size; and it took its 
stately course between picturesque banks, 
diversified by rock, meadow and forest, 
gently sloping fields and sheer precipices. 
In summer many pleasure boats plied 


320 


(tonvuQt of WLfiitt iSeat 321 

upon its waters, and, at a point convenient 
to the city, a sheltered little hay of shallow 
water furnished an excellent bathing place. 

In winter the river became a beautiful 
skating park, and on pleasant Saturday 
afternoons rang with the laughter and gay- 
ety of scores of boys and girls from Burke 
and other schools. 

The older White Indians were all fond of 
skating, and there was much good-natured 
rivalry among them. In this sport, as in 
everything else at Burke, Clifton Bennett 
had been an acknowledged leader. Earl 
and Johnny were good skaters; but they 
had been content to give Clifton first place. 
When Oscar Sherman entered the list of 
eighth grade skaters, Clifton was forced to 
look to his laurels ; but it was Rex whom he 
covertly watched with jealous apprehension, 
and Rex soon proved his rival. Strong, 
light and agile, he spun over the ice in 


322 02*110 22*on 

graceful curves, daring turns and intricate 
maneuvers which called forth bursts of ap- 
plause from the other pupils and filled Clif- 
ton’s heart with rage. 

“ He’s trying to show off because he came 
from a big city and took lessons there,” 
sneered Clifton. 

“ He isn’t doing anything of the kind,” 
Gladys retorted. You try to show off just 
as much as he does.” 

Clifton saw that he could not outdo his 
cousin, and, instead of the merry tests of 
skill in which Rex would have delighted, 
he chose gloomy races by himself, or with 
some of his new friends among the “ old 
boys,” about whose influence Gladys was so 
anxious, and who had made up the Carl 
Simpson set. 

Although they had turned against Carl, 
these boys flattered Clifton more than ever, 
and he haughtily accepted their homage, al- 


Courafle of 323 

though in his heart he knew they were not 
to be trusted; for Clifton had a keen brain 
and clear vision when not blinded by jealous 
passion, and he valued this friendship at its 
true worth. He knew his followers would 
turn against him in an instant if their own 
interests seemed to demand it. But he kept 
on against heart and judgment in obedience 
to sheer obstinacy, and from an unreasoning 
impulse to hurt those who had offended 
him. That they had not intended to do so 
made no difference — Clifton Bennett had 
been forced to step down for another, and 
that other must suffer. 

Rex, also, was proud. He had earnestly 
desired his cousin’s friendship and had tried 
to win it. He was sorry that he could not; 
he was sorry for Gladys and her father and 
mother, because he had a genuine affection 
for them and knew that Clifton’s conduct 
pained them. But he did not propose to 


324 Hop Wi'^o WLon 

humble himself and get snubbed for his 
“ softness,” as he scornfully called any over- 
tures of peace. So he let Clifton alone with 
a dignity that was remarkable in a boy of 
his age, and which, although he did not 
know it, hurt his cousin far more than open 
enmity would have done. It also, although 
he did not know this, either, won additional 
approval from Professor White and his 
other teachers, as well as from his own im- 
mediate family and relatives. Mr. and 
Mrs. Webster watched every phase of their 
son’s difficulty with his cousin, and talked it 
over with the parents of the latter; but they 
were wise, and, aside from an occasional 
helpful word, left the two boys to work out 
the solution of their problem for themselves, 
knowing that in both there was good mate- 
rial for the struggle. 

The week following the barn party 
brought the first very cold weather of the 


^OnV^Qt of WifilU SfW 325 

season, with snow and ice everywhere. The 
river itself was frozen over to a sufficient 
depth for safe skating, and several gay 
parties had already taken advantage of it. 

Saturday was a perfect winter day, bright 
and crisp, but not too cold; and the White 
Indians, with many others from Burke and 
elsewhere, were out in force. 

The younger ones were restricted to the 
sheltered bay before mentioned, which was 
now set aside for their special enjoyment, 
and where they could slide about upon the 
smooth ice without getting in the way of 
the skaters. 

But the Medicine Men, as usual, had 
plans of their own. 

“ I wish we had an ice boat,” suggested 
Tommy, who had heard his father read of 
such a craft the evening before. 

Fred stared at the trees, buried in thought 
for a moment. 


326 2rii^ Mos WLfio WLon 

“ We can have one,’’ he announced at last, 
with the air of being equal to any require- 
ment, which was a characteristic of the 
Pequot Medicine Man. 

Tommy stared at him with round eyes. 

You can’t make one,” he charged, yet with 
a gleam of hope in his expression. 

“Huh!” remarked Fred. “Guess it’s 
easy enough.” 

Now Fred himself had heard of ice boats, 
and he knew, in a general way, that they had 
a sail, or sails, and slid upon the ice. That 
was the extent of his information upon the 
subject, but not for worlds would he have 
acknowledged this to Tommy. “ That big 
branch that’s broken off would be all right,” 
he announced, pointing to the bank and then 
starting for the object in view. 

Tommy followed with growing interest 
and a faith in the powers of his playmate 
that much experience could not weaken. 


of Htux 327 

They dragged the branch down upon the 
ice through a crowd of eager questioners, to 
whom they would only give the superior 
answer, “Wait and see!” Then, in a mo- 
ment, the two had started their fun in 
earnest. 

Paying no heed to the warnings of their 
companions, they scattered the protesting 
groups and dashed out toward the skaters, 
Fred drawing the branch, upon which the 
triumphant Tommy was seated in state, 
clinging to an uprising bough which 
furnished an excellent substitute for a 
sail. 

“ See our ice boat! See our ice boat! ” he 
shouted. “ I thought of it myself! ” 

Fred turned a surprised and scornful 
face. “ You! ” he scoffed. “ I was the one 
that thought of it! ” 

“Huh!” retorted Tommy. “Who said 
ice boat first? ” 


328 Hos WLtfO WLon 

Fred stopped to glare at the other Medi- 
cine Man with wrathful eyes. “ Huh! ” he 
snorted. “ I guess you’d got your ice boat 
if I hadn’t thought of the branch! ” 

Tommy rushed to his fate. “ I could 
have taken my sled,” he boasted. And then, 
goaded by Fred’s scorn, he added, “ A sled’s 
just as good, anyway.” 

The light of a brilliant purpose flashed 
in Fred’s eyes. With a great whoop he shot 
forward, running and sliding and causing 
the branch to perform most marvelous an- 
tics, while Tommy clung to it desperately, 
his boasting changed to howls when he 
found that he could neither get off nor stop 
in his giddy career. 

“ Florence! Florence! ” he yelled, catch- 
ing sight of his sister in the distance. 

Warning shouts greeted the coming of the 
irrepressible pair, while in their wake ran 
and slid and slipped and tumbled a fright- 


(ilotttraof of 329 

ened group of the smaller Indians and their 
companions. 

“ Come back! Come back! You’ll trip 
some one up! ” screamed Kathie and Myrtle 
Brown in a breath. 

Walter Smith was vainly trying to catch 
the offenders. 

“Go back!” shouted Earl, waving a 
hand of authority, as he swept toward the 
scene. 

“Go back!” seconded Florence and 
Clara when, attracted by the commotion, 
they turned to learn the cause. They skated 
rapidly toward the spot, while the skaters 
near by gave the intruders a wide margin, 
and Fred kept the howling Tommy spin- 
ning here and there on his branch to the 
time of his own triumphant yells. 

“ Say I didn’t think of it again, will 
you?” he challenged, pausing to take 
breath. 


330 jjoj? wion 

Tommy thought he saw his chance and 
gained courage. “ You didn’t! ” he yelled, 
attempting to get off the branch. 

But the other Medicine Man was too 
quick for him. He gave his victim a sud- 
den spin which sent him rolling and slip- 
ping over the ice in a howling little heap 
just as Clifton Bennett swept around the 
point of land that shut in the bay on the 
west. 

Clifton was taken by surprise, and 
Tommy shot under his feet before he had 
time to turn ; so he went sprawling over the 
little fellow to measure his length on the 
ice, amidst the yells of the prostrate Medi- 
cine Man and the frightened shouts and 
screams of the spectators. 

A dozen hands picked up the howling 
Tommy, who was not in the least hurt, 
while another dozen laid hold of Clifton in 
anxious assistance. But he got to his feet 


of WLffitt Htuv 331 

with angry impatience, cast a scowling 
glance at the cause of his discomfort, and 
shook off the friendly hands. 

Tommy was wriggling lustily in the 
grasp of his rescuers, with sturdy chal- 
lenges directed at the other Medicine Man, 
who stood at a distance, divided between 
fright and triumph. 

Clifton sniffed scornfully at anxious in- 
quiries, gave a warning gesture to those who 
were in his way, skilfully threaded a path 
through the crowd that had collected, and 
was off like the wind — a strong, graceful 
figure, skating furiously up river, with a 
heart overflowing with resentment and rage 
because of his fall. He thought they were 
all secretly laughing at him, and that Rex 
would rejoice at his humiliation. 

But he did not know Rex Webster. 
“ Any other fellow would have broken his 
head and half killed Tom besides/’ said 


332 JSoff WL^o WLon 

Rex, looking after the skater with generous 
admiration. ^ 

“That’s so!” cried a score of voices, 
yielding tribute to the flying form. 

Meantime, Fred had passed from his 
momentary fright at what he had done to 
enjoyment of his rival’s discomfiture, and he 
commenced to scoff and boast. The older 
Indians, however, stopped him with stern 
warnings. 

“We’ll get another Medicine Chief in 
your place if you do a thing like that again,” 
said King Philip, severely. “ You might 
have killed both of them.” 

Fred’s laughter subsided into half-scared 
grins. “He said he got it up!” was his 
pouting defense. 

“ No matter what he said,” King Philip 
threatened. “You’ll have to be just a com- 
mon Indian if you don’t know enough to 
keep from killing people.” 


(S^onvuQt of 333 

“They ain’t killed!” protested Fred. 

“We are! We are!” yelled Tommy. 
“And you killed us!” He was dancing 
about belligerently. Then, suddenly in- 
spired by the protection of numbers and 
the attention which he was beginning to 
enjoy, he lowered his head and made 
an unexpected and successful charge 
at his rival, in fine imitation of Samp- 
son. 

The two went down together and rolled 
over and over in a clinging and defiantly 
yelling heap, which brought forth irresist- 
ible laughter, and they were spurred to 
further effort. 

But Dark Cloud made a dive and sepa- 
rated the combatants, holding one in each 
hand at arm’s length; while Earl, Florence 
and Clara reasoned the squirming rebels 
into submission. 

“ I shall take you right home. Tommy, 


334 jETiie iios WL'^o WLon 

if you don’t promise to stay where you be- 
long,” warned Florence. 

Come on, Fred! ” cried Earl. Home’s 
the only place for chaps like you.” 

Peace having thus been restored, and the 
desired promises being given, the inter- 
rupted skating was resumed. 

Up the river, they could see Clifton 
skimming around by himself, for none of 
his followers happened to be present that 
afternoon. He was getting farther and 
farther away with each great swing, and he 
never looked backward. 

“How silly in him to act like that!” 
pouted Florence. “No one thought of 
making fun of him.” 

“ He’s so conceited he imagines people 
are always thinking something about him,” 
said Genevieve. 

At that moment Gladys skated up to them 
with a worried face. “ I wish Clifton 


€ourafle of 335 

wouldn’t go so far up river,” she said, anx- 
iously. “ It isn’t called safe up there.” 

The next moment, they saw Rex, who had 
been near her, flying after his cousin. 

“O dearl” cried Florence. “They’ll 
both get in.” 

“ I guess not,” said Earl, keeping along 
beside her. “ Bennett knows the river. 
Probably he will turn back in a minute.” 

There were sudden exclamations of dis- 
may from those behind as they noticed the 
two forms far ahead. Clifton was keeping 
up his maneuvers, but rapidly advancing. 
His head was down, and it was evident that 
he was not thinking of his course. He had 
not noticed Rex, who, bending to his task 
with all his lithe strength, was gaining on 
him with great strides. 

“Bennett must be crazy!” exclaimed 
Johnny, under his breath. 

Oscar gave him a quick look, glanced at 


336 

Gladys’s pale face, and sped after the other 
two. 

Earl and Johnny followed at their best 
speed, while the girls swept after them, si- 
lent with fear, and the remaining skaters 
strung along behind. 

Clifton was now skating straight ahead. 
He had not once looked back. 

“ He must know he ought not to go any 
farther! ” cried Earl. 

“ He does know it,” answered Johnny. 
“ Only, he doesnh know anything when he 
gets one of those spells.” 

Rex was only a short distance behind his 
cousin. 

Come back — both of you fellows ! ” 
yelled Earl. “ Do you want to go under? ” 

Clifton did not turn his head; but they 
noticed that he defiantly increased his speed, 
while cries of warning sounded from down 
the river. 


fitotttafle of WLfiiU ntut 337 

Suddenly there was a crack, a crushing, 
gurgling sound, and Clifton was through 
the ice, with a suck of the water that car- 
ried him almost out of sight. He had struck 
an air hole, and went down like a rock. 
Only his head and one arm could be seen. 

He had not given a cry, but shrieks of 
terror rang out from the skaters below — ■ 
then they held their breath. 

With a shout of encouragement, Rex 
swept forward, to throw himself fiat and 
work his way for several feet, until he could 
reach and grasp the arm that was flung 
above the ice, which at that moment gave 
way beneath it. 

“Hold still, Clifif!” he cried. “We’ll 
have you out in a minute. Come on, fel- 
lows!” he yelled back to Oscar, Earl and 
Johnny, who were doing their best. 

He lay at full length with the ice creak- 
ing and bending beneath him, and crumb- 


338 3S09 212X1^0 Wion 

ling off farther and farther beneath the 
weight of that quiet arm. But, as it broke, 
he managed to work his body backward, 
little by little, knowing that he could not 
venture to pull his cousin out alone, and lis- 
tening tensely to the hum of the approach- 
ing skates. 

“ Make a chain! ” he called, as the three 
White Indians came near. 

They obeyed him promptly. Oscar, 
prone upon the ice, crawled forward until 
he could grasp Rex’s feet; Earl followed, 
grasping his, and Johnny, Earl’s; then 
gradually they worked back to the firm ice, 
leaving a crushed and broken trail where 
Clifton had been drawn through. 

As they pulled him out, the girls came 
up, white-faced and trembling, followed by 
a frightened crowd. 

They peered at the crushed ice and the 
dark, cold water with shivering horror. 



GRADUALLY THEY WORKED BACK lO THE FIRM ICE.” 


■'< ■ ' .'i 


< \ 



(S^onvust of Htuv 339 

“O Clifton!’^ sobbed Gladys, throwing 
her arms around him. “ O Clifton! ” 

The boy’s eyes were fierce. Humiliation 
conquered both fear and gratitude. He 
saw Florence toss her curls and turn away, 
but he did not notice that her face was white 
and quivering, and he shook himself free 
from his sister’s grasp. “You fellows are 
fools to risk your lives,” he said hoarsely. 
“ I guess the world would move on without 
any of us. I’m going home to get into dry 
clothes.” 

With that he was off down the river, leav- 
ing a shaken and indignant group behind 
him. 

“A pretty thank you!” growled Oscar. 
Then he saw the tears in Gladys’s eyes and 
noticed that she was trembling. “ Let me 
take you home, Gladys,” he said gently. 

The other White Indians followed with 
few words. 


340 sme Hop Wion 

“ To think he should treat Rex like that! ” 
panted Genevieve, forgetting her fright in 
her indignation. “ I wish he would tumble 
in again.’’ 

Florence turned on her with unexpected 
energy. “ You don’t wish any such thing, 
Genevieve Sherman!” she cried, and sped 
forward to join Gladys and Oscar. 

Genevieve turned a flushed and bewil- 
dered face to Rex, as he came up with Earl 
and Johnny. “ I think everybody is 
queer!” she exclaimed. 

Farther down, they met Theodore, who 
had taken off his skates and made the best 
time possible toward the scene of the acci- 
dent. It was almost his first experience on 
the ice, and, although he had proved an apt 
pupil for the short period of his instruction, 
when he found himself deserted by the other 
Indians he had lost no time in divesting 


(H^onvuQt of Witfltt Bear 341 

himself of his treacherous foot gear before 
he hurried after them. 

In his wake, though far behind, trooped 
the smaller children, scared by the flight of 
the older ones, but not fully understanding 
the trouble. 

When Clifton, dripping and furious, flew 
past, they set up cries of terror and increased 
their shouts of “ Florence! ” “ Earl! ” 

“ Clara!” “Johnny!” with a dozen other 
names of larger brothers and sisters. But 
Walter and Jimmy never flinched nor fal- 
tered. Even in their fright, they remem- 
bered that they were Indians, and tried to 
calm the excited little throng that ran and 
slipped and flustered around them. 

“Cliff’s drowned! They’re all drowned!” 
wailed Tommy. 

“They ain’t!” denied Fred. 

“ I tell you they are! They are! ” yelled 


342 Hos Wion 

Tommy. “And we’ll all be drowned, 
too!” 

In his excitement, he slipped more than 
ever and was soon sprawling on the ice like 
a big frog. The other Medicine Man 
jerked him to his feet, but the effort took his 
own feet out from under him, and the two 
went down together, toppling over with 
them a number of their comrades, like a set 
of tenpins. At this point the ice was so 
smooth that they fell down as fast as they 
could get up, and it was some time before 
they were able to trail along after their com- 
panions. The accident had been attended 
by louder cries; but the comic side of it 
struck the Pequot Medicine Man, and he 
commenced to giggle. Once started, a gale 
of merriment made the slipping, tumbling 
little group more helpless for a moment; 
but Fred managed to get to his feet, and one 
by one the others followed his example, or 


^onvaQt of WLftiU 343 

were drawn, shrieking with laughter, to a 
safer pathway. 

The older boys and girls had their hands 
full to get the excited crowd back to the bay, 
and when at last they had accomplished the 
task skating was ended for that afternoon, at 
least for Burke. 


CHAPTER XVII 


A NARROW ESCAPE 

I T was the middle of January, and win- 
ter had set in in earnest. The snow 
had fallen steadily for two days and 
covered the ground to a considerable depth. 
In places there were great drifts, and, when 
the sky cleared, the snowplows went to 
work with energy; while people every- 
where in Thornton set themselves about the 
task of clearing porches and steps and 
walks. The school children reveled in 
snow battles; white images greeted the 
pedestrian at every turn; and merry shouts 
rang out upon the crisp air. 

For some time, the Smith children had 
been mysteriously important; but the other 
White Indians were unable to surprise them 


844 


a TSratrtoUi 345 

into revealing their secret. With the close 
of school, however, on the Friday afternoon 
following the storm, came a challenge to 
the United Tribes. The Pawnees had once 
more become white people and dared the 
redskins to meet them, prepared for battle, 
at Stony-brook pasture the next afternoon 
at two o’clock. 

King Philip and White Bear each re- 
ceived a summons, and they hurried to get 
their people together as soon as possible in 
the council lodge. 

“ I knew Jack was up to something,” de- 
clared Rex, with satisfaction. 

“ So did I,” agreed Earl. 

“ Maude knows all about it,” said Flor- 
ence; “but you couldn’t get her to say a 
word.” 

“ Bertha knows, too,” chimed in Doro- 
thy. “ I’m sure she does, though she just 
laughs when you ask her about it.” 


346 lios WLf^o Wion 

“ I ’most got Walter to tell,” announced 
Fred, mysteriously. 

“ Yes, you did! ” scoffed Frank. 

Fred bridled. You can ask Tom,” he 
declared, appealing to the other Medicine 
Mar from force of habit. 

Tommy did not fail him. “ I heard 
him,” he agreed. The uncertainty in his 
face, however, gave evidence that he 
was not sure what he had heard, and 
the other Indians took advantage of his 
doubt. 

‘‘ Heard him what? ” cried several voices 
in chorus. 

Heard him ’most tell,” answered 
Tommy, with a defiant grin. 

“ What did he say? ” demanded Earl. 

But Tommy was very busy arranging 
Prince’s collar. ^‘You can tell ’em, Fred, 
if you want to,” he answered with lofty un- 


concern. 


^ ISTattOto ^^tUpt 347 

They pounced upon the Pequot Medicine 
Man with laughing questions. 

“ Out with it, Indian! ” called Rex. 

Fred was equal to the occasion. I ain’t 
going to tell,” he grinned. 

There was a general laugh. 

“ Good reason why! ” charged Frank. 

“ A lot you know about it! ” added Earl. 

Then Fred made his master move. 
“ Who said I knew anything about it? ” he 
demanded. 

The Indians stared in surprise; but pres- 
ently they burst into louder laughter than 
before. 

“ That’s right,” admitted Rex. “ He 
didn^t say he knew.” 

But he said he ’most got Walter to 
tell! ” charged Dorothy. 

“That ain’t telling,” retorted Fred, en- 
joying his triumph. 

“ I don’t believe you anywhere near got 


348 2ri^e 3os WLi^o WLon 

him to tell,” scoffed Myrtle. What did 
he say? ” 

“ Said he’d show me to-morrow,” crowed 
Fred, while the Mohawk Medicine Man 
capered about, appropriating his share of 
the victory. 

The appointed hour found Mohawks and 
Pequots, fully equipped for battle, ap- 
proaching the place where the mystery was 
to be revealed. In the road the snow was 
already well packed ; but, when they looked 
across the fence into the pasture, no path 
was to be seen. 

“ I guess they went farther down the road 
to the bars,” said Oscar. Then he was over 
the fence examining the snow with wonder- 
ing eyes. 

Rex and Earl followed at a leap. 

“ There’s been something here,” declared 
Rex, as all three carefully inspected some 
peculiar tracks on the white surface. 


^ iEntUpt 349 

Doesn’t look as though anything had 
walked/' decided Earl. 

The others joined them with eager curi- 
osity. 

Let’s follow the tracks, anyway,” pro- 
posed Oscar. 

“ Perhaps it’s some animal,” hesitated 
Florence, remembering their fright in an- 
other pasture not many weeks before. 

“ There are never any ugly cattle in this 
field,” said Earl, reassuringly. “ Besides, 
they wouldn’t be out now,' you know.” 

And it isn’t the track of an animal,” said 
Rex. 

‘‘ That’s so,” agreed Earl and Oscar, in a 
breath. 

“ It is! ” suddenly wailed Tommy. “ It’s 
a tiger! It’s a tiger! ” 

‘^Pooh!” scoffed Fred. “There ain’t 
any circus around here now.” 

“ A tiger wouldn’t make a track like 


350 Hos Wion 

that, anyway,” said Rex, joining in the 
laugh at Tommy’s expense. But the Medi- 
cine Man looked around suspiciously, not 
entirely convinced. 

“Come on!” cried Earl. “We’ll find 
out what it is. The Smiths have probably 
been doing something to fool us — maybe 
they think they can scare us out of coming.” 

That settled it, and the Indians went on 
confidently — all but Tommy, who kept 
behind Florence, with an eye for wild 
beasts in every clump of trees. 

They were crossing a level strip of land 
where the road swept around the corner of 
the pasture, then down a steep hill at the 
right to another sharp turn, made necessary 
by a sheer descent of rocky ledge. The in- 
ner curve was bounded by a steep cliff and 
the outer by a partly broken fence, which 
served as an insecure barrier against the 
dangerous precipice. 


^ Narroto ISf^catie 351 

“ Some one has been sliding down there,” 
remarked Earl, going up to the fence to look 
more closely into the road. 

“They’d better* keep off,” said Oscar. 
“ Coasting in the road is forbidden.” 

“ It ought to be,” said Earl. “ How could 
a fellow see a team coming around that 
bend?” 

“ If he went over the rock it would be the 
last of him,” put in Rex. 

To their left, and ending in the level tract 
which they were crossing, was a fine sweep 
of hill, affording a perfect coasting ground. 

It had not been used since the snow, and 
no tracks were to be seen; but the White 
Indians had brought their sleds and pro- 
posed to have some fun with them after they 
had answered Johnny’s challenge. There 
had been just enough thawing and subse- 
quent freezing to suit the most exacting 


coasters. 


352 iSos WLon 

“ Come on! ” cried Oscar. “ We’ll settle 
the white people, and then we can try the 
hill.” 

They followed the curious marks upon 
the snow, commenting upon them as they 
went, until, skirting a small elevation, they 
gave a shout of surprise at what they saw. 

Pefore them, just under the brow of the 
hill, was a fort of snow, with loop-holes for 
guns, a door carefully barricaded by a 
plank, and small windows, also guarded 
against peeping eyes by pieces of boards 
which fitted them nicely. The fort was high 
enough for the tallest boy among them to 
enter and stand upright, and it was perhaps 
ten feet square. Its shape was nearly per- 
fect, and it closely resembled the pictures of 
old blockhouses seen in histories. 

The Indians hastily consulted ; then, fol- 
lowing the instructions of the head chiefs, 
they ran forward with loud whoops and 



a 


ff 


IN A MOMENT THE FIGHT WAS ON 



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A ' • • 

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•■ ■ -?/ ^ ‘ a . 




^ TiCatrvoto 353 

yells to s-urround the fort and pelt it with 
snowballs. 

There was a stir within the besieged 
building, and from the windows came the 
report of guns — none the less effective be- 
cause they were not of the dangerous 
kind — while a number of snowballs 
whizzed past the ears of the attacking 
party. 

“We’ll make you shut your windows!” 
cried Earl, as he aimed a snowball at one of 
the openings from which the board had 
been removed. A laugh from within told 
him that his aim had been true ; but, before 
he had time to gloat over it, his mouth was 
closed by a swift, though soft, ball, that 
broke over his face in a cold shower and 
turned the laugh against himself. 

In a moment the fight was on The white 
people were quiet, but determined; while 
the Indians whooped and yelled in their 


354 HOS SlZStlO WLon 

best style, darting at the doors, trying to 
break in the windows, striking their wooden 
tomahawks against the strong walls, and 
keeping up a constant bombardment of 
snowballs. But the fort stood firm. 

After a while King Philip and White 
Bear called together their braves — all 
were braves for the occasion — and held 
a consultation at the edge of a clump 
of trees at some little distance from the 
fort. 

‘‘White people heap plucky!” grunted 
King Philip. 

“Ugh!” responded White Bear in his 
most guttural tone. “ Heap strong house. 
White chief great medicine! But we take 
all their scalps! ” 

“Huh!” scoffed Tommy, who had for- 
gotten about the tiger in his excitement over 
the fort and the fun of storming it. “ Huh! 
You’ll have to get ’em first.” 


M Watrroto 3 B^capt 355 

“ fFe can get ’em,” boasted the other 
Medicine Man, strutting up and down be- 
fore the clump of trees like a bantam roos- 
ter; but, even as he spoke, a well-aimed 
snowball from the fort knocked off his 
feathered cap and sent it ingloriously fleeing 
before a sudden breeze. 

Fred turned to shake a threatening fist at 
the blockhouse, from which came smoth- 
ered sounds of merriment; then started in 
pursuit of his cap, with the taunts of his 
rival following him. 

But Tommy’s jeers were also cut short. 
Another merry snowball followed the first 
and neatly took with it the biggest feather 
from the plumage that he sported. Tommy 
chased it, yelling dire threats; while the 
other Indians laughed and shouted good 
advice. 

“That’s right, Tom,” agreed Frank; 
“ Go up and knock their old blockhouse to 


356 iSos WLfiO Wion 

pieces and take them all prisoners. You are 
just the fellow to do it! ” 

“But you’d better tie your head on!” 
called Dorothy. 

Jimmy suddenly sprang between her and 
the fort, in time to receive a plaster of snow 
upon his coat sleeve. 

“ Big Eagle is always looking out for 
someone else,” said Clara, looking at her 
small brother with approval. Her words 
called forth more praise, which made the 
young brave blush with pleasure and em- 
barrassment, while the Medicine Men 
openly scoffed. 

“Huh!” commented Fred, in disgust. 
“ The girls want to be braves, and then they 
think we ought to get hit for them.” 

Tommy looked toward the group with a 
pouting face. “ They ain’t braves,” he re- 
marked. “ They’re just squaws f* 

“ Well, we’re not afraid of tigers in a 


a KartoUj 357 

pasture, if we are squaws,” retorted Myr- 
tie. 

The older Indians had been deep in the 
discussion of their plan of action ; and now, 
as the signal was given, they started back at 
full speed, a whooping, threatening crowd, 
flourishing their tomahawks and calling on 
the people in the fort to come out and sur- 
render. 

A storm of snowballs met them half way; 
then the windows were closed once more to 
resist the new attack, which was more per- 
sistent than the first. But all at once, as 
suddenly as they had come, off dashed the 
Indians toward the trees again, running 
around each other as they went, waving 
their arms and weapons, and using every 
known device to make their number appear 
greater and confuse those who were watch- 
ing. 

They left behind them two Indians, Hia- 


358 Zlft 330 $ WLon 

watha and Black Wolf, crouched close to 
the walls of the fort and ready to dash in at 
the smallest opportunity, or to gain, if pos- 
sible, some other advantage over the enemy. 
The Indians hoped that in their wild retreat 
they had covered the absence of these two 
braves; and they whooped and howled 
from the cover of the woods, trying in every 
way to attract the attention of the white 
people and get them to come out, while the 
scouts carefully reconnoitered. 

But Johnny and his companions were not 
to be caught napping. A shout from within 
the fort, followed by some well-directed 
snow-balls, proved that the stratagem had 
not been successful; and the Indians came 
swooping back to try the second plan upon 
which they had decided. 

The sound of their rrrovements drowned, 
as far as possible, by the whoops and cries 
and rushes and bombardments of their com- 


a ISTatrvoUj IB&tapt 359 

panions, Black Wolf and Hiawatha sta- 
tioned themselves at one corner of the fort, 
and the former, mounting upon the shoul- 
ders of the latter and from there scrambling 
to the roof, began to dig a hole in it with 
his wooden hunting knife. 

But Frank had miscalculated his weight, 
or the strength of the roof; at least there 
must have been a weak place in the latter, 
for suddenly one foot went through. Before 
the Indian could draw it back, it was seized 
from below, and with shouts of triumph the 
brave was held a prisoner. 

Black Wolf made a worthy struggle; but 
the odds were against him, and he accepted 
his defeat with good nature, determined to 
watch his chance and free himself if possi- 
ble. This, however, he was not allowed to 
do. While the other Indians were consult- 
ing together as to what plan of action would 
now be best, the chiefs hesitating to follow 


360 ISos Wifio WLon 

Black Wolf in a body for fear they might 
break through and drop upon the heads of 
those below, there was a sudden surprised 
yell from the captive, and he disappeared 
within the fort. 

“They’ve got him! They’ve got him!” 
howled Tommy. 

A shout of triumph emphasized his 
words, and this was followed by sounds of 
a struggle, together with stifled laughter. 

The Indians stared at one another in 
amazement. 

“ I don’t see how they could do that with- 
out breaking in the roof,” said Earl, in a low 
tone. 

“ Neither do I,” admitted Rex. 

Hiawatha was cautiously ascending. 
While the others watched in breathless ex- 
citement, he crept to the spot from which 
Black Wolf had dropped, and they saw him 
look at it in wonder. Then he crawled back 


^ ISTatrtoto ^utupt 36i 

to the edge of the roof and whispered to 
the Indians, who were crowding close 
and craning their necks to see and 
hear. “There isn’t a break there!” he 
announced. 

They stared incredulously. 

“ Not a sign of any! ” he assured them. 

Rex began to climb up. At the corner he 
paused and stared, then slowly shook his 
head. “ The roof is whole! ” he whispered 
back. 

Oscar crept about, making a careful in- 
spection, while those on the ground watched 
him with eager faces. They saw him again 
approach the place where Frank had disap- 
peared, and held their breath in suspense, 
smiling a little in response to the giggles 
that came from within. Without a mo- 
ment’s warning, however, Hiawatha, also, 
dropped from view, fighting as he went 
down; and there were sounds of another 


362 Ei)t Wion 

struggle, accompanied by more suppressed 
laughter. 

Tommy set up a louder howl than before. 
‘‘They’ll catch us all and scalp us!” 

“Hush!” whispered Florence. “They 
won’t hurt anybody.” 

“They will! They will!” wailed 
Tommy. “They’ll eat us up!” 

This was greeted by shouts of merriment, 
echoed by those inside the fort. Bundling 
the somewhat reassured Tommy out of the 
way, the Indians made another vigorous at- 
tack, loudly demanding a surrender and the 
return of the captive braves. 

A shout of derision answered the demand. 

“ Come and get them if you want 
them!” challenged the voice of the white 
leader. 

The next moment, Theodore was mount- 
ing to the roof like a cat. His companions 
watched him breathlessly while he crept 


a TSTattoto 363 

about so lightly that not the faintest sound 
broke the stillness. Tommy, in his interest, 
forgot to howl; while Fred and Jimmy, 
with the little girls, watched with big eyes. 
Gladys and Genevieve clung together in de- 
lighted suspense. 

What followed was done so quickly and 
dexterously that no one quite knew how it 
happened. Theodore disappeared from 
view only an instant, to appear at the door 
of the fort with a whoop of triumph and a 
call for the other braves to come on. 
Johnny’s shout and leap were a second too 
late, for White Bear and King Philip were 
upon him, while the other braves soon over- 
powered the second white man ; whereupon 
the siege was merrily ended. 

“But where are the captives?” asked 
Florence, as the Indians crowded into the 
fort. 

The sound of smothered laughter, and 


364 iSos 232*1^0 WLon 

the sight of two violently kicking bags at 
the further side, answered her question. 

In a moment the prisoners were laugh- 
ingly released, and the mystery was ex- 
plained. “ We caught them in bags,” cried 
Maude, ‘‘ because we had only two men, 
and we knew how strong your braves were. 
That big block of packed snow was intended 
to come out when we wanted it to ; and of 
course they didn’t have anything to cling to 
that wasn’t slippery, so we could pull them 
down quite easily. They dropped into the 
bags, you see, and we tied them up before 
they could help themselves.” 

“ But how did Theodore manage to get in 
and open the door without your stopping 
him? ” asked Rex. 

“ Why, he was quick as lightning and still 
as a mouse,” said Johnny, admiringly. “ No 
one else could have done it.” 

Kwasind smiled depreciatively as they 


^ TSTarroto lEwapt 365 

crowded around him, all talking at once and 
complimenting him, the Indians, of course, 
crowing over him in delight. There hap- 
pened to be a little chink where I could 
peek through,” he explained; “and I 
watched my chance when the prisoners were 
trying to get away so the white people had 
to look after them. It didn’t take long to 
push away the block of snow and drop 
down. Then I grabbed the prop from the 
door and rushed out.” 

“ Of course it was easy / laughed Rex. 
“ Theodore never does anything! ” 

“ Of course not — anybody could do it! ” 
chimed in the others, with admiring rail- 
lery. 

“ Well, I guess the captives were pretty 
lively,” protested Theodore, blushing. 

“ That’s right, they were! ” cried Johnny. 
“ I thought we should lose them in spite of 
the bags.” 


366 ms WLon 

The merriment began again, and the cap- 
tured braves joined in it at their own ex- 
pense. Frank was at first inclined to be 
crestfallen, but the others soon restored him 
to cheerfulness. 

‘‘ The greatest chiefs were sometimes de- 
feated, you know,” said Earl. 

“Yes,” Johnny chimed in; “and those 
braves put up a good fight.” Then he 
laughed again at the memory of it. “ But 
they did look funny being jerked down into 
the bags! ” 

“ It was too funny for anything! ” agreed 
Maude. “ I helped Walter and Bertha 
hold the bags open, while Johnny pulled the 
boys through the roof. Of course we took 
them by surprise, and we had the advan- 
tage.” 

“ But didrdt they kick! ” put in Walter. 

“ I had to let go the bag,” confessed 
Bertha. 


^ :israttoui 367 

Oscar, true to his nature, enjoyed the joke 
as much as though it had been on some one 
else. He had no petty conceit, and he did 
not mind being laughed at occasionally. 
Suddenly, however, he made a dive for one 
corner of the fort. What have you got 
here?” he shouted, picking up a peculiar 
contrivance of wood and leather. 

“ It’s a snowshoel ” cried Earl, seizing it 
eagerly. 

‘‘Here’s another!” cried Oscar. 
“There’s a whole pile of them!” 

“ Of course! ” grinned Johnny. “ We’ve 
got two feet apiece.” 

An interested crowd swooped down upon 
the snowshoes and began to examine them 
with eager curiosity. They were about 
three feet long by one foot wide, made of 
very light strips of wood fastened together 
with thongs of leather and with additional 
thongs for holding them upon the feet. 


368 Wion 

“ They worked pretty well,” said Johnny, 
with pardonable pride. 

“ That accounts for the wild beast tracks,” 
laughed Rex. Our Medicine Chief 
thought we had a tiger hunt on our 
hands! ” 

Tommy could not be induced to join in 
the laughter that greeted this remark, but 
sidled out of the fort in pouting protest. 
Once outside, he motioned slyly to Fred, 
who followed him with a ready instinct for 
mischief; and, while the others were flock- 
ing about, eagerly testing the snowshoes, the 
two slipped away without attracting atten- 
tion and gained the little clump of trees 
in gloating triumph. From this shelter 
Tommy glared at the unsuspecting Indians 
with growing resentment, forgetting that his 
companion had also scoffed at him. 

They think they’re smart! ” he grunted. 

Guess we don’t have to stay with them! ” 


^ TSTafrtoto 369 

“ Course not! ” agreed Fred, scenting an 
adventure. 

“ I’m going to slide in the road,” an- 
nounced Tommy. 

Fred giggled, fully understanding his 
rival. “ All right! ” he agreed. 

They scudded through the grove and 
made a dash for the side of the field, looking 
back fearfully to see if they were pursued ; 
but no one was in sight, and no protesting 
voice announced their discovery. 

Crawling through the fence, they looked 
up and down the winding white way, to find 
that the coast was clear. There had been 
only enough travel to pack the snow. 

“Come on!” cried Tommy, fiercely, 
drawing his sled out into the road. 

Fred hung back, giggling. “Guess I 
won’t go,” he said. 

Tommy glared at him with a challenge in 
his eye. “ Why not? ” he demanded. 


370 STJit ISos Wilio WLon 

“ They didn’t say anything to me/' 
grinned Fred. 

“Huh!” grunted the other Medicine 
Man. “ Well, you can come just the same.” 
But the fierceness of his eyes had begun to 
waver, and his companion grinned more 
broadly. 

“ They wouldn’t let us,” he observed. 

“I don’t care!” blustered Tommy. 
“ They needn’t laugh, then. I guess if 
they’d been shut up with tigers all night 
they would want to keep out of their way.” 

“Course!” agreed Fred. “But it was 
just monkeys.” 

“I don’t care!” retorted Tommy. “It 
might have been tigers for all of them.” 

At this moment anxious shouts announced 
that the absence of the Medicine Men had 
been discovered. 

“ Don’t answer! ” charged Tommy. 

The shouts came nearer, and the Pequot 


a UCatvoto lEutupt 371 

Medicine Chief giggled again; but his 
companion looked at him with resentful 
eyes. You can laugh, too, if you want to,’’ 
he threw back. I’m going to slide down 
this hill.” He waited for Fred to call him 
back in terror; but the Pequot Medicine 
Man only giggled. He had not the slightest 
idea that his rival would dare attempt any- 
thing so rash. 

“ I’m going! ” threatened Tommy, again. 

A crowd of Indians and white people 
dashed around the little hill and saw the 
Medicine Men on the edge of the road. 
Then Tommy had the satisfaction of pro- 
ducing a sensation. They called him back 
with frightened voices, and increased their 
speed, accenting their commands with fran- 
tic gestures. 

Tommy looked at them, a picture of re- 
sentful triumph, and, to increase their fear, 
he planted one foot upon his sled. It had 


372 2rtie 2809 WLfto Wion 

the desired effect, and the cries grew louder 
and more commanding, changing to en- 
treaty from the older girls. 

The head chiefs, with Oscar and Johnny, 
were in the lead, advancing with frenzied 
speed and shouting to the little fellows to 
come back, while Florence and Clara raced 
after them with distracted words and mo- 
tions. 

Fred was enjoying the situation hugely, 
but Tommy was not quite satisfied; he 
wanted to show off a little more. “ They 
ought to be scared! ” he scowled. “ I’m go- 
ing now! ” 

“ All right! ” giggled Fred, not at all de- 
ceived by the bluster of his companion. 

But something happened upon which 
neither of them had counted. As Rex and 
Earl came up abreast and leaped the fence 
at a bound, Tommy, looking over his shoul- 
der, made a quick motion as though to throw 


^ TSTartoto lEmupt 373 

himself upon his sled. To do so was the 
farthest thing possible from his intention, 
but he had not considered the slippery con- 
dition of the road, and his feet went out 
from under him before he could even howl. 
He landed upon his stomach on the sled and 
shot off down the hill like a small rocket, 
accompanied by the shrieks of the girls and 
the startled exclamations of the boys. 

It had looked exactly as though he did it 
on purpose, and Fred gazed after him with 
his mouth open, too surprised to cry out, or 
even to speak. The older boys were affected 
in much the same way, but only for an in- 
stant. They pulled themselves together and 
dashed down the hill after the flying 
Tommy, while the remainder of the party 
ran and slipped and scrambled after them 
in terrified excitement 

He was going head-first, too! ” wailed 
Florence. 


374 JETtie Mos Wion 

Tommy himself, for probably the first 
time in his life, was too frightened to howl. 
He clung to the sled, unable to stop or guide 
it, and shot on, straight toward the broken 
fence with the sheer descent of rock beyond 
it. But if he could turn in time he might 
yet be saved. 

Steer to your right! Steer to your 
right! ” yelled Rex and Earl, in a breath. 

“ Turn out of the road! ” shouted Johnny 
and Oscar. 

But Tommy had either lost his sense or 
his consciousness. He flew straight on with- 
out a sound. In another moment he would 
be over the precipice, and Florence grew 
sick with horror, while Dorothy gave one 
agonized shriek and tumbled in a little heap 
by the side of the road. 

At that instant, there was a swift clatter of 
hoofs, a mounted form dashed around the 
curve, sprang from its horse directly in the 


^ Xavtotu 375 

path of the flying child, made a lightning 
clutch and dodge, and Tommy’s sled shot 
forward without its little rider, disappear- 
ing with a sickening bump and scrape of 
runners. Tommy himself was squirming in 
one of Clifton’s strong hands, while the 
other held the bridle of the prancing horse. 

Staggering from the shock, but keeping 
his firm grip on either side, Clifton spoke a 
few soothing words to the big bay, and 
moved back to a place of safety. 

The animal quieted down in intelligent 
obedience, but Tommy had found his voice 
and used it vigorously. 

“ You are not hurt,” Clifton assured him. 
His voice was calm, although his face was 
white. 

“ I am/ yelled Tommy. I’m killed! 

Clifton shook him gently. “ Be still ! ” he 
commanded. You’ll frighten your sister 
to death.” 


376 3309 WL'^O Wion 

But Tommy’s yells served rather to reas- 
sure Florence and the , others. The yells 
were natural — were like Thomas. The 
silence had been appalling. 

In a moment rescued and rescuer were 
surrounded by a panting crowd, who talked 
all together, as soon as they could speak at 
all. Florence had Tommy in her arms, and 
Dorothy was coming down the hill as fast 
as her suddenly restored strength would per- 
mit. 

“ That was a splendid thing to do! ” ex- 
claimed Rex, in admiring gratitude. 

“ It was magnificent! ” seconded Earl. 

“You had good nerve, Bennett!” cried 
Johnny. “ He nearly bowled you over.” 

“ It was great! ” said Oscar. He peered 
over the precipice. “ The sled has gone to 
the bottom! ” he added in an awed voice. 

A shudder ran through the group, and 
Tommy was hushed, for an instant, into si- 


^ TSTattoto 377 

lence, as his now ruddy face was turned, 
with the rest, toward the danger that he had 
escaped. 

They had all forgotten for the time that 
Clifton had ever been anything but a friend 
to any of them. They crowded around him 
enthusiastically, discussing the incident with 
faces that were still pale. Dorothy was cry- 
ing softly, and Florence was trembling. She 
tried to thank Clifton, but could not find 
words. 

For a moment the boy’s face glowed with 
responsive feeling, and he looked like the 
Clifton of old. He, too, had forgotten his 
trouble, and Gladys hovered about him with 
grateful pride in her expression. 

Tommy was the first to recover. “ He let 
my sled go ! I want my sled ! ” he clamored, 
struggling in Florence’s clasp and heedless 
of everything except zeal for his lost prop- 
erty. 


378 Zfft ^09 WLfiO WLon 

“ Never mind the sled! ” murmured Flor- 
ence, giving him a little hug, against which 
he wriggled resistingly. 

Earl turned to Fred with a stern face. 
“ Did you get him to do it? ’’ he demanded 
in a tone that said there was to be no trifling. 

“No, I didn’t!” denied Fred, a little 
scared. 

“ Did you tell him not to? ” 

Fred began to look defiant. “ I didn’t 
s’pose he was really going to,” he said. “ I 
thought he was just fooling.” There was 
sincerity in his face, and Earl felt relieved. 

“ But you ought not to have come to the 
road with him,” put in Clara. 

“ That’s so! ” agreed Earl. 

Tommy thought it was time to assert him- 
self, since his rival was receiving so much 
attention. “ I made him come,” he sud- 
denly bragged. 

“ But what did you run away for? ” asked 


^ 379 

Florence, putting an arm over his shoulder. 
“ What made you frighten sister so? ” 

Tommy remembered his grievance. 

You laughed at me! ” he charged. Then, 
as he saw her puzzled look, “ There are 
tigers in fields.” 

In spite of the fright which they had had, 
there were a few faint smiles. 

“ But what made you try to slide down 
this dreadful hill? ” persisted Florence. 

Tommy hesitated. While often drawing 
upon his imagination, he was not an inten- 
tionally untruthful boy; but the temptation 
to let them think he had dared to take the 
fearful ride was strong. Tommy was silent. 

“ Fred ought to have stopped him,” put 
in Clara, again. 

At this, the Pequot Medicine Man bri- 
dled. He was getting over his fright. “ I 
didn't s’pose he was silly enough to do it,” 
he retorted. 


380 Hos WLon 

The tide was turned, and Tommy was 
roused to battle. He glared at his rival with 
denial in his eye. “I didn^t do it!” he 
shouted. 

You did, tool ” charged Fred. 

“I didn’t!” yelled Tommy. I 
slipped.” 

The two challenged each other with fierce 
eyes; but, for the rest, there was relief in 
the disclosure. 

I’m glad you didn’t mean to,” said Flor- 
ence, fervently. 

She turned, feeling that she could now 
thank Clifton; but the boy had suddenly 
remembered his bitterness and sprang into 
the saddle with a quick bound. 

The others called to him ; but he was off 
up the road without looking around, the 
big bay horse striding along with easy 
speed. 

“ I wish he had waited! ” said Florence, 


a TSTattoto 381 

in distress. “ I think he was so brave! And 
we are very grateful — I wanted to tell 
him!” 

“ He seemed like himself,” said Gladys, 
looking after her brother with shining eyes. 
Her face, though still pale, was happier 
than it had been for some time. 

I want my sled! ” complained Tommy. 

“ I should think you had had sled enough 
for one day,” said Johnny; “ but I’ll get it 
for you.” 

They were all too shaken by the accident 
to care for more fun that day and soon 
started for home. 

Florence was greatly distressed at her 
failure to take care of her small brother, and 
she brooded over it more than was good for 
her. “ Just think of it, papa! ” she said that 
evening. “ If it hadn’t been for Clifton, 
Tommy would have been killed ; and it was 
all my fault.” 


382 Wian 

“ Not quite, little woman,” answered her 
father, holding her in a comforting arm. 
“ Thomas is a pretty big proposition for his 
size. And, really, he is old enough to begin 
to look out for his sister, instead of expect- 
ing her to look out for him all the time.” 

Tommy pouted uneasily. She’s big 
enough to look out for herself!” he pro- 
tested. But his father did not spare him. 
Although his heart was full of gratitude for 
the escape of his little son, he knew the latter 
needed a lesson. 

“ Thomas knew that the road was forbid- 
den ground for coasting,” he proceeded. 
“ He went there in direct disobedience to 
orders.” 

“ You never told me not to go there,” 
urged Tommy. 

“ I did not suppose it was necessary,” said 
Mr. Vernon, in a very serious voice. “ I am 
a law-abiding citizen, and I expect my sons 


^ ISTarroto 383 

to obey the laws also. Even Thomas is old 
enough to do so.” 

Theodore was listening with an earnest 
face, and Tommy’s eyes had grown big. 

“ I cannot always watch him,” continued 
Mr. Vernon. “ Neither can his mother, nor 
Florence; and Fred’s advice is sometimes 
at fault. He must learn to decide for him- 
self what is right, and what is wrong; what 
is proper, and what is improper. Self- 
reliance should be taught very early in life. 
If he had been killed our hearts would have 
been broken; but Thomas Webster Vernon 
would have been the one who was most to 
blame.” 

Tommy went to bed with a very serious 
face. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


UNCAS FINDS HIMSELF 

B oth Mr. and Mrs. Vernon had 
warmly expressed their gratitude to 
Clifton; while Dorothy and Theo- 
dore had told him how brave they thought 
him, and nearly every member of the 
United Tribes had said a kind word to him 
about the rescue of Tommy. But Clifton 
took refuge against their friendliness in a 
pride that was all the more carefully 
guarded because he felt that it was weak- 
ening. 

Although he would not admit it even to 
himself, he was very lonely in his aloofness. 
He had received more than enough of the 
flattery that he knew was meaningless and 
the companionship in which there was no 
real pleasure for him. His unkindness to old 


384 


mntun iFtntrs 385 

and new friends had cost him dear, and his 
revenge for fancied slights had injured him- 
self more than any other. 

In addition to all the previous trouble, he 
was now aware that he wanted his cousin’s 
friendship — that Rex was a boy for whom 
he could feel a genuine affection. Clifton’s 
heart was not too easily touched ; but, once 
stirred, its depths were sweet and true. He 
was compelled to admire Rex for his ability 
and for his manly qualities, and to recognize 
in him a rival as generous as he was power- 
ful, and as sincere as he was valiant. 

That, even in the face of open enmity, 
Rex had risked his life for him, secretly 
shook his stubbornness ; while his own brave 
act and its reception stirred him still more. 
But here again self-conscious pride made 
him its slave. He would not have them 
think him weak enough to give in just for a 
little praise, or because Rex had pulled him 


386 zrtie Hop WLffo WLon 

out of the water. So he went on miserably, 
with greater outward haughtiness because 
of the inward pain and uncertainty. 

One day he met Florence coming from 
The Maples alone. She had not yet been 
able to thank him as she wished for the res- 
cue of her little brother, and Clifton still be- 
lieved that she scorned him. He scarcely 
glanced at her as he hurried past, but she 
put out a hand to stop him. Her face was 
tremulous and eager. 

“ I think you were so brave! she began, 
catching her breath for fear he would rush 
on before she could finish. But Clifton 
stood still in surprise because she was not 
tossing her curls and turning away. 

IVe tried to tell you before,” she hur- 
ried on. It was just like Uncas — and I’m 
so glad ! I wanted you to be like him. And, 
oh, I thank you so much for saving 
Tommy! ” 


Unt^u iFtnlrfii 387 

Before he could say a word in reply, she 
was gone down the street, and Clifton 
walked home with a look on his face that 
inspired the Mohawk Medicine Man to 
give him a friendly salute as he went by. 

“Hello!” called Tommy, with genial 
good-fellowship. 

“ Hello! ” Clifton called back in the same 
spirit. 

He met Gladys in the hall and swung 
her around in merry playfulness, leaving 
her to a joyful wonder when he ran up- 
stairs. 

That evening he was quiet and thought- 
ful, but not haughty. He went to his room 
early, and, when his sister hurried to the 
door after him, he returned her good-night 
kiss with hearty affection. 

“ I believe he reallv thinks just as much 
of me as Oscar does of Genevieve! ” Gladys 
told herself delightedly. 


388 ©lie WLon 

That night Clifton Bennett fought the 
hardest battle of his boyhood, but the result 
was victory. 

At school the next day, just after the 
morning exercises, he rose and asked per- 
mission to speak. 

All eyes were turned upon him in won- 
der, as Professor White gravely gave the 
permission ; and he began at once, looking 
more manly than he had ever looked in his 
life before. 

‘‘ Professor White,” he said in a clear 
voice, which was determined in spite of the 
slight tremble in it, “ if you will let me, I 
want to say just a word now that I ought to 
have said a good while ago. I want to say 
that I know I have been a coward and a 
sneak, and that Rex Webster is the bravest 
fellow I ever knew. I want to take back 
everything mean I ever said about him and 
to own that he has beaten me on every point, 


WLntun 389 

and that I like him all the better for it. I 
want to confess that I took the skeleton, and 
apologize for it. I put it in the haunted 
house to frighten him so I could get even 
with him, and went there and did my best 
to get a chance to crow over him, and was 
all the madder because I couldn’t. I want 
to propose three cheers for the champion of 
the Burke school.” 

His voice broke, and he sat down quickly. 
The thrilling silence that had lasted 
through his confession, continued for a mo- 
ment, then a burst of applause such as Burke 
had never heard before shook the air and 
fairly made the windows rattle. 

Again and again, in uncontrollable en- 
thusiasm, the cheers rang out, boys arid girls 
uniting in the demonstration ; and the name 

Bennett,” as well as “ Webster,” was re- 
peated over and over. 

Professor White rose, sat down, rose again 


390 jjTijr 30 o» szaifto Wion 

and attempted to speak, only to have his 
voice drowned in the deafening storm of 
approval. At last he let the boys yell them- 
selves into comparative quiet and the girls 
clap their hands to their hearts’ content; 
while his own face worked with emotion, 
and the other teachers present smiled and 
wiped their eyes in sympathy. 

When he could make himself heard, he 
said: “If I am permitted to express an 
opinion, I would like to say that Clifton 
Bennett has done what I expected him to 
do — has proved the manhood that is in 
him, and has won a place in our hearts that 
he will not be likely ever to lose again.” 

He sat down, and the cheers burst forth 
once more, this time including his own 
name. 

That was a tumultuous morning. Clif- 
ton, now that he had gone over to the side 
of his cousin, had gone entirely; for he did 


iFinlffii 391 

nothing by halves. Rex found that his 
popularity had mounted to the highest 
notch, while Clifton himself won back his 
old friends and more new ones than he had 
ever before counted at Burke. 

That noon, Rex and Clifton and Gladys 
crossed the campus together, with a body- 
guard of the other White Indians, even in- 
cluding the Medicine Men, who, wild with 
curiosity about the cheering which they 
had heard, had waited to pounce upon the 
older Indians for an explanation. 

In the evening the United Tribes held 
a reunion at The Maples. On this occa- 
sion, the families of the Indians composed 
their only guests, and, as the evening was 
cold, they were received within doors, the 
Great Sachem presiding; but not until, in 
the council lodge, the peace pipe had gone 
around and Uncas had been formally rec- 
ognized as a mighty chieftain. 


392 ®jOe SOI? mon 

During the happy hours that followed 
four of the White Indians received special 
attention. They were Rex Webster, cham- 
pion speaker of the Burke school; Johnny 
Smith, the hero of Engine Ninety-six; 
Theodore Stone Vernon, once the Little 
Circus King; and Clifton Bennett, con- 
queror of himself. 

Clifton had learned a lesson, and, in the 
gladness of his heart, he believed he should 
never again be jealous of anyone; while 
Gladys hovered about him in delighted 
affection, and felt that her happiness was 
complete. 

Rex Webster, also, was happy, for there 
was now no cloud in his sky. Both in school 
and out. Truth had triumphed; but he ap- 
preciated the winning of his cousin far 
more than the conquest of the medal. 


THE END. 


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the histoiy of our owm land, including iPwhatan, the 
Indian Caesar; Massasoit, the friend of- tlie Puritans; 
Pontiac, the red Napoleon; Tecumseh, the famous war 
chief of the Shawnees; Sitting Bull, the famous war chief 
of the Sioux; Ceronimo, the renowned Apache Chief, ate., 
etc. 

A— 4 


BOOK'S FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


FAMOUS SCOUTS. By Charles II. L. Johnston. 

Large 12mo, illustrated $1.50 

Mr. Johnston gives us historical facts and biographical 
sketches and interesting anecdotes of those heroes of early 
pioneer days who made names for themselves among the 
hardy adventurers who thronged the border. There are 
tales of Gen. Israel Putnam; the celebrated Daniel Boone; 
Kit Carson, the noted scout; Lewis and Clarke, the hardy 
explorers; the world-renowned Buffalo Bill, and of many 
other famous scouts, trappers and pioneers. 
BEAUTIFUL JOE’S PARADISE: Or, The 
Island of Brotherly Lo ve . A sequel to ‘ ‘ Beautiful Joe.” 
By Marshall Saunders, author of “ Beautiful Joe.” 
One voL, library 12mo, cloth, illustrated . . $1.50 

“ This book revives the spirit of ‘ Beautiful Joe ’ capi- 
tally. It is fairly riotous with fun, and is about as unusual 
as anything in the animal book line that has seen the 
light.” — Philadelphia Item. 

’TILDA JANE. By M^vrshall Saunders. 

One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
“ I cannot think of any better book for children than 
this. I commend it unreservedly.” — Cyriis Townsend 
Brady. 

’TILDA JANE’S ORPHANS. A sequel to “ Tilda 
Jane.” By Marshall Saunders. 

One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
’Tilda Jane is the same original, delightful girl, and as 
fond of her animal pets as ever. 

THE STORY OF THE GRAVELE YS. By Mar- 
shall Saunders, author of “ Beautiful Joe’s Para- 
dise,” ‘‘ ’Tilda Jane,” etc. 

Library 12mo, cloth decorative. Illustrated by E. B. 

Barry $1.50 

Here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and 
triumphs, of a delightful New England family, of whose 
devotion and sturdiness it will do the reader good to hear. 
BORN TO THE BLUE. By Florence Kimball 
Russel. 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.25 

The atmosphere of army life on the plains l)reathes on 
every page of this delightful tale. The boy is the son of a 
captain of U. S. cavalry stationed at a frontier post in the 
days when our regulars earned the gratitude of a nation. 

A— 5 


Z. Z. PAGE cr» COMPANY’S 


IN WEST POINT GRAY 

By Florence Kimball Russel. 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . SI. 50 

“ Singularly enough one of the best books of the year 
for boys is written by a woman and deals with life at West 
l^oint. The presentment of life in the famous military 
academy whence so many heroes have graduated is realistic 
and enjoyable .” — New York Sun. 

THE SANDMAN; HIS FARM STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. With fifty illustrations by 
Ada Clendenin Williamson. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover . . . . $1.50 

“ An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of 
very small children. It should be one of the most popular 
of the year’s books for reading to small children.” — 
Buffalo Express. 

THE SANDMAN; MORE FARM STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
Mr. Hopkins’s first essay at bedtime stories met wdth 
such approval that this second book of “ Sandman ” tales 
was issued for scores of eager children. Life on the farm, 
and out-of-doors, is portrayed in his inimitable manner. 

THE SANDMAN; HIS SHIP STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins, author of “ The Sandman; 
His Farm Stories,” etc. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
“ Children call for these stories over and over again.” — 
Chicago Evening Post. 

THE SANDMAN; HIS SEA STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
Each year adds to the popularity of this unique series 
of stories to be read to the little ones at bed time and at 
other times. 

A — 6 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


A TEXAS BLUE BONNET 

By Emilia Elliott. 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.50 

This is the story of a warm-hearted, impulsive and breezy 
girl of the Southwest, who has lived all her life on a big 
ranch. She comes to the far East for a long visit, and her 
experiences “ up North ” are indeed delightful reading. 
Blue Bonnet is sure to win the hearts of all girl readers. 

THE DOCTOR^S LITTLE GIRL 

By Marion Ames Taggart, author of “ Pussy-Cat 
Town,” etc. 

One vol., library 12mo, illustrated . . . $1.50 

A thoroughly enjoyable tale of a little girl and her com- 
rade father, written in a delightful vein of sympathetic 
comprehension of the child’s point of view. 

SWEET NANCY 

The Further Adventures op the Doctor’s Little 
Girl. By Marion Ames Taggart. 

One vol., library, 12mo, illustrated . . . $1.50 

In the new book, the author tells how Nancy becomes 
in fact “ the doctor’s assistant,” and continues to shed 
happiness around her. 

CARLOTA 

A Story of the San Gabriel Mission. By Frances 
Margaret Fox. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
in colors by Ethelind Ridgway .... $1.00 

It is a pleasure to recommend this little story as an 
entertaining contribution to juvenile literature.” — The 
New York Sun. 

THE SEVEN CHRISTMAS CANDLES 

By Frances Margaret Fox. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors by E. B. Barry .... $1.00 

Miss Fox’s new book deals with the fortunes of the de- 
lightful Mulvaney children. 

SEVEN LITTLE WISE MEN 

By Frances Margaret Fox. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated in colors by 

E. B. Barry SLOO 

In this new story Miss Fox relates how seven little chil- 
dren, who lived in Sunny California, prepared for the great 
Christmas Festival. 

A— 7 


L. C. PAGE 6 ^ COMPANY'S 


PUSSY-CAT TOWN 

By Marion Ames Taggart. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors $1.00 

“ Anything more interesting than the doings of the cats 
in this story, their humor, their wisdom, their patriotism, 
would be hard to imagine.” — Chicago Post. 

THE ROSES OF SAINT ELIZABETH 

By Jane Scott Woodruff. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
in colors by Adelaide Everhart .... $1.00 

This is a charming little story of a child whose father was 
caretaker of the great castle of the Wartburg. 

GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK 

By Evaleen Stein. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . . $1.00 

Gabriel was a loving, patient, little French lad, who 
assisted the monks in the long ago days, when all the books 
were written and illuminated by hand, in the monasteries. 

A LITTLE SHEPHERD OF PROVENCE 

By Evaleen Stein. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated in colors by 

Diantha Horne Marlowe $1.(W 

This is the story of Little lame Jean, a goatherd of 
Provence, and of the “ golden goat ” who is supposed 
to guard a hidden treasure. 

THE ENCHANTED AUTOMOBILE 

Translated from the French by Mary J Safford. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors by Edna M. Sawyer . . . $1.00 

“ An up-to-date French fairy-tale which fairly radiates 
the spirit of the hour, — unceasiqg diligence.” — Chicago 
Record-Herald. 

0-HEART-SAN 

The Story op a Japanese Gibl. By Helen Eggles- 
ton Haskell. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors by Frank P. Fairbanks . . . $1.00 

“ The story comes straight from the heart of Japan. 
From every page breathes the fragrance of tea leaves, 
cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums.” — The Chicago 
Inter-Ocean. 

A— 8 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND; Ok, The Ad- 
ventures OF Allan West. By Burton E. Stevenson. 
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 

Mr. Stevenson’s hero is a manly lad of sixteen, who is 
given a chance as a section-hand on a big Western rail- 
road, and whose experiences are as real as they are thrilling. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER. By Bur- 
ton E. Stevenson. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 

“ A better book for boys has never left an American 
press.” — Springfield Union. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER. By Burton E. 
Stevenson. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ Nothing better in the way of a book of adventure for 
boys in which the actualities of life are set forth in a practi- 
cal way could be devised or written.” — Boston Herald. 

CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER. By Winn Standish. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

Jack is a fine example of the all-around American high- 
school boy. 

JACK LORIMER’S CHAMPIONS; Or, Sports 

ON Land and Lake. By Winn Standish. 

Square 12ino, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ It is exactly the sort of book to give a boy interested 
in athletics, for it shows him what it means to always 
‘ play fair.’ ” — Chicago Tribune. 

JACK LORIMER’S HOLIDAYS; Or, Millvale 
High in Camp. By Winn Standish. 

Illustrated $1.50 

Full of just the kind of fun, sports and adventure to 
excite the healthy minded youngster to emulation. 

JACK LORIMER’S SUBSTITUTE; Or, The Act- 
ing Captain of the Team. By Winn Standish. 

Illustrated $1.50 

On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wres- 
tling, tobogganing, but it is more of a school story perhaps 
than any of its predecessors. 

A— 9 


L. C. PAGE COMPAJVY^S 


THE RED FEATHERS. By Theodore Roberts 
Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . , $1.50 

“ The Red Feathers ” tells of the remarkable adventures 
of an Indian boy who lived in the Stone Age, many years 
ago, when the world was young. 

FLYING PLOVER. By Theodore Roberts. 

Cloth decorative. Illustrated by Charles Livingston 

Bull $1.00 

Squat-By-The-Fire is a very old and wise Indian who 
lives alone with her grandson, “ Flying Plover,” to whom 
she tells the stories each evening. 

COMRADES OF THE TRAILS. By G. E. 

Theodore Roberts. 

Cloth decorative. Illustrated by Charles Livingston 

Bull $1.50 

The story of a fearless young English lad, Dick Ramsey, 
who, after the death of his father, crosses the seas and 
takes up the life of a hunter and trapper in the Canadian 
f orGsts 

LITTLE WHITE INDIANS. By Fannie E. Os- 
trander. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . . $1 .25 

‘‘ A bright, interesting story which will appeal strongly 
to the ‘ make-believe ’ instinct in children, and will give 
them a healthy, active interest in ‘ the simple life.’ ” 

THE BOY WHO WON 

By Fannie E. Ostrander, author of “ Little White 
Indians.” 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated by R. Farrington 

El well $1.25 

A companion volume to “ Little White Indians ” con- 
tinuing the adventures of the different “ tribes,” whose 
'' doings ” were so interestingly told in the earlier volume. 
MARCHING WITH MORGAN. How Donald 
Lovell Became a Soldier of the Revolution. 
By John V. Lane. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . . $1.50 

This is a splendid boy’s story of the expedition of 
Montgomery and Arnold against Quebec. 

A— 10 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


COSY CORNER SERIES 

It is the intention of the publishers that this series shall 
contain only the very highest and purest literature, — 
stories that shall not only appeal to the children them- 
selves, but be appreciated by all those who feel with 
them in their joys and sorrows. 

The numerous illustrations in each book are by well- 
known artists, and each volume has a separate attract- 
ive cover design. 

Each 1 vol., 16mo, cloth $0.60 

By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 

THE LITTLE COLONEL (Trade Mark.) 

The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Its hero- 
ine is a small girl, who is known as the Little Colonel, 
on account of Tier fancied resemblance to an old-school 
Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and old family 
are famous in the region. 

THE GIANT SCISSORS 

This is the story of Joyce and of her adventures in 
France. Joyce is a great friend of the Little Colonel, 
and in later volumes shares with her the delightful ex- 
periences of the “ House Party ” and the “ Holidays.** 

TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY 

Who Were the Little Colonel’s I^Jeighbors. 

In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an 
old friend, but with added grace and charm. She is not, 
however, the central figure of the story, that place being 
taken by the “ two little knights.** 

MILDRED’S INHERITANCE 

A delightful little story of a lonely English girl who 
comes to America and is befriended by a sympathetic 
American family who are attracted by her beautiful 
speaking voice. By means of this one gift she is en- 
abled to help a school-girl who has temporarily lost the 
use of her eyes, and thus finally her life becomes a busy, 
happy one. 

A — 11 


Z. C. PAGE <5r» COMPANY'S 


By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON (CorUinued) 

CICELY AND OTHER STORIES FOR GIRLS 

The readers of Mrs. Jolmston’s charming juveniles 
will be glad to learn of the issue of this volume for young 
people. 

AUNT ’LIZA’S HERO AND OTHER STORIES 

A collection of six bright little stories, which will appeal 
to all boys and most girls. 

BIG BROTHER 

A story of two boys. The devotion and care of Stephen, 
himself a small boy, for his baby brother, is the theme of 
the simple tale. 

OLE MAMMY’S TORMENT 

“ Ole Mammy's Torment ” has been fitly called a 
classic of Southern life." It relates the haps and mis- 
haps of a small negro lad, and tells how he was led by 
love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. 

THE STORY OF DAGO 

In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, 
a pet monkey, owned jointly by two brothers. Da^o 
tells his own story, and the account of his haps and nns- 
haps is both interesting and amusing. 

THE QUHT THAT JACK BUHT 

A pleasant little story of a boy's labor of love, and how 
it changed the course of his life many years after it was 
accomplished 

FLIP’S ISLANDS OF PROVIDENCE 

A story of a boy's life battle, his early defeat, and his 
final triumph, well worth the reading. 

A — 12 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


By EDITH ROBINSON 

A LITTLE PURITAN’S FIRST CHRISTMAS 

A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how Christ- 
mas was invented by Betty Sewall, a typic^d child of the 
Puritans, aided by her brother Sam. 

A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF LIBERTY 

The author introduces this story as follows: 

“ One ride is memorable in the early history of the 
American Revolution, the well-knowij ride of Paul 
Revere. Equally deserving of commendation is another 
ride, — the ride of Anthony Severn, — which was no less 
historic in its action or memorable in its consequences." 

A LOYAL LITTLE MAID 

A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary 
days, in which the child heroine, I3etsey Schuyler, renders 
important services to George Washington. 

A LITTLE PURITAN REBEL 

This is an historical tale of a real girl, during the time 
when the gallant Sir Harry Vane was governor of Massa- 
chusetts. 

A LITTLE PURITAN PIONEER 

The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settlement 
at Charlestown. 

A LITTLE PURITAN BOUND GIRL 

A story of Boston in Puritan days, which is of groat 
interest to youthful readers. 

A LITTLE PURITAN CAVALIER 

The story of a “ Little Puritan Cavalier " who tried 
with all his boyish enthusiasm to emulate the spirit and 
ideals of the dead Crusaders. 

A PURITAN KNIGHT ERRANT 

The story tells of a young lad in Colonial times who 
endeavored to carry out the high ideals of the knights 
of olden days. 

A— 13 


Z. C. PAGE COMPANY'S 


By OUIDA {Louise de la Ramee) 

A DOG OF FLANDERS 

A Christmas Story 

Too well and favorably known to require description. 

THE NURNBERG STOVE 

This beautiful story has never before been published 
at a popular price. 

By FRANCES MARGARET FOX 

THE LITTLE GIANT’S NEIGHBOURS 

A charming nature story of a “ little giant ” whose 
neighbors w’ere the creatures of the field and garden. 

FARMER BROWN AND THE BIRDS 

A little story which teaches children that the birds are 
man’s best friends. 

BETTY OF OLD MACKINAW 

A charming story of child life. 

BROTHER BILLY 

The story of Betty’s brother, and some further adven- 
tures of Betty herself. 

MOTCTR NATURE’S LITTLE ONES 

Curious little sketches d scribing the early lifetime, Qt 
childhood,” of the little creatures out-of-doors. 

HOW CHRISTMAS CAME TO THE MUL- 
VANEYS 

A bright, lifelike little story of a family of poor children 
with an unlimited capacity for fun and mischief. 

THE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS 

Miss Fox has vividly described the happy surprises that 
made the occasion so memorable to the Mulvaneys, and 
the funny things the children did in their new environ- 
ment. 

A— 14 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


By MISS MU LOCK 

THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE 

A delightful story of a little boy who has many ad- 
ventures by means of the magic gifts of his fairy god- 
mother. 

ADVENTURES OF A BROWNIE 

The story of a household elf who torments the cook 
and gardener, but is a constant joy and delight to the 
children who love and trust him. 

HIS LITTLE MOTHER 

Miss Mulock’s short stories for children are a constant 
source of delight to them, and “ His Little Mother,” in 
this new and attractive dress, will be welcomed by hosts 
of youthful readers. 

LITTLE SUNSHINE’S HOLIDAY 

An attractive story of a summer outing. “ Little Sun- 
shine ” is another of those beautiful child-characters for 
which Miss Mulock is so justly famous. 

By MARSHALL SAUNDERS 

FOR HIS COUNTRY 

A sweet and graceful story of a little boy who loved 
his country; written with that charm which has endeared 
Miss Saunders to hosts of readers. 

NITA, THE STORY OF AN IRISH SETTER 

In this touching little book. Miss Saunders shows how 
dear to her heart are all of God’s dumb creatures. 

ALPATOK, THE STORY OF AN ESKIMO DOG 

Alpatok, an Eskimo dog from the far north, was stolen 
from his master and left to starve in a strange city, but 
was befriended and cared for, until he was able to return 
to his owner. 

A — IS 


Z. C. PAGE COMPAJVY^S 


By WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE 

THE FARRIER’S DOG AND HIS FELLOW 

This story, written by tLe gifted young Southern 
woman, will appeal to all that is best in the natures of 
the many admirers of her graceful and piquant style. 

THE FORTUNES OF THE FELLOW 

Those who read and enjoyed the pathos and charm 
of “ The Farrier’s Dog and His Fellow ” will welcome 
the further account of the adventures of Baydaw and 
the Fellow at the home of the kindly smith. 

THE BEST OF FRIENDS 

This continues, the experiences of the Farrier’s dog 
and his Fellow, written in Mr. Dromgoole’s well-known 
charming style. 

DOWN IN DIXIE 

A fascinating story for boys and girls, of a family of 
Alabama children who move to Florida and grow up in 
the South. 


By MARIAN W. WILDMAN 

LOYALTY ISLAND 

An account of the adventures of four children and 
their pet dog on an island, and how they cleared their 
brother from the suspicion of dishonesty. 

THEODORE AND THEODORA 

This is a story of the exploits and mishaps of two mis- 
chievous twins, and continues the adventures of the 
interesting group of children in “ Loyalty Island.” 

A— -16 


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